Halloween: Tricks and Treats Collection
by woundedhearts
Summary: Many Authors and Stories await the next poor soul who dares to click this link...prepare for a fright, ghastly surprises and a few nightmarish screams. And when you've finished reading, write your own story. See Chapter 1 for more details!
1. Halloween Intro

Halloween Intro

by Lodylodylody

*************

London and Bailey's cabin was decorated very nicely for Halloween. In the center of the room was a smiling Jack O'Lantern. Sitting on either side of the pumpkin were London and Bailey themselves, both looking straight ahead into the camera…for they had just begun the latest episode of _Yay Me! Starring London Tipton. _

The beautiful young heiress was wearing a tight back 'vampire dress' very much in the mode of Elvira or Vampira. Her hair was slicked back and some pale makeup, bright red lipstick and gleaming fangs completed her look quite nicely.

Bailey was dressed as a different sort of undead creature. Her face and arms were painted a sickly green with some black and grey splotches here and there. Her sundress appeared dingy and had a few rips and tears, along with some blood stains. But despite all that, the farm girl looked just too pretty and perky to pass for an actual zombie.

"Welcome to my special Halloween edition of _Yay Me!"_ London said to the camera. "Now there are many fun things about Halloween, but we all know what the best part is, right?" She glanced to her roommate.

"Scary Halloween stories," Bailey answered with a smile.

"No," London said. "Dressing up in fun costumes."

"Well, that is fun too," the farm girl conceded. "But I love a good ghost or monster story, and so do a lot of our fans. And I know that some of them have produced some Halloween-themed stories that you can showcase here on your show."

"Stories about me?" London looked excited and began clapping her hands. "I love people to talk about me."

"Not just you," Bailey explained. "There are stories about our friends on the ship, and ones back at your hotel too."

Suddenly, a fur-covered form jumped out from the closet and growled. London and Bailey both screamed…but then the heiress grabbed the werewolf's arm and used a very impressive (and painful looking) Tae Kwan Do move to throw it to the ground. Bailey then grabbed the nearest thing at hand (an umbrella, as it happened) and began to beat the monster unmercifully.

"Stop! Stop!" the monster yelled in a voice that sounded very much like Zack's.

A moment later, the cabin door opened and a dashing highwayman stepped in. It was Cody Martin, wearing his historically accurate Halloween costume.

"I told him this wasn't a good idea for a prank," Cody said with a smirk.

London and Bailey helped Zack to his feet and removed his werewolf mask. Then both girls smacked him once more.

"Sorry for that rude interruption," London told the camera. "Now maybe we can get back to my show."

"Yes, I hear there are going to be some Halloween stories about us," Cody said.

But before anyone could answer…a strange, rumbling noise was heard. Nobody could tell where it was coming from, but the source of the sound seemed very close.

"What was that?" Bailey asked.

When the noise sounded again, much more loudly, London panicked.

"It's a real Halloween monster!" she cried. "Cody, protect me!" She grabbed onto her longtime friend.

"Uh…excuse me," Bailey said as she glared towards her roommate. "That's my man. He needs to protect me."

But before that matter could be put to a debate, the sound returned, louder than ever. All four teens huddled together.

"What do we do?" Zack asked.

"I don't know," Cody answered. "But while we try to figure it out…our audience can enjoy the Halloween stories that were sent in about us."

"Good idea," Bailey added. "And after they've seen all the stories, we'll be back to end the show."

Again the noise sounded.

"We hope," Zack said nervously.

*************

_**And now, on to the stories…**_

*************

**___author's note____: Each chapter of this story will be a stand alone tale by a different author. If you'd like to submit one (or more) Halloween themed Suite Life stories by November 10th, contact __woundedhearts____._**__

_**An: Hi, everyone, just wanted to say due to popular demand. I am extending the deadline to submit your stories from October 31st to November 10th by midnight! (PST) Many Smiles, and we hope to hear from you soon! :)**_


	2. lodylodylody

Night of the Living Lounge Singer

by Lodylodylody

*************

In a desolate, foggy spot that wasn't marked on any conventional map, a group of zombies sat and grumbled.

"I want to do something," a frowning, grey skinned zombie complained. "It's so boring here!"

A female zombie with wild blonde hair rolled her eyes. "You're always bored. Can't you ever relax and enjoy being dead?"

"Come on," the male zombie continued. "We haven't done anything since we crashed that prom at Waverly Place. And we didn't even get eat anyone's brains then."

"Well, maybe we would have if you hadn't got us involved in that stupid dance battle."

"Can I help it if I love to dance?"

The two talkative zombies continued to bicker. The rest of the group stayed silent at first, but eventually started to join in the conversation. Many of them were bored…and hungry.

Finally it was decided that they would go out among the humans that night…but there would be no dancing. Tonight would be all about feasting on the living. The timing couldn't have been better either, for it was Halloween. The zombies would be able to walk around without arousing suspicion.

"But let's not go back to Waverly Place," the blonde female zombie advised. "That neighborhood is full of wizards and vampires."

"Let's skip New York all together," another zombie suggested. "Let's try Boston."

*************

At the Tipton hotel, Carey looked around a mostly empty lounge. There wasn't going to be much of a crowd for her final show that night. In the past, Halloween had always been a festive night at the Tipton, but that had been due to London Tipton's elaborate costume parties. This year, with London off at sea on the _S.S. Tipton_, things were very quiet.

Carey sighed. She didn't mind playing to a small crowd…but she did miss her boys. She was sure they were having a great time with London. They always had fun on Halloween. But without them around, Carey was sure that her own Halloween would be very uneventful.

On this matter…she would be wrong.

"Hey Carey," Skippy the night manager called out as he approached the singer. "Looks like you're going to have a full house after all."

"You know something I don't?" the singer replied as she turned to the man.

"Bunch of folks just came into the lobby," the man explained. "Must've come from a costume party. They all look a fright."

Even as Skippy was speaking, a large number of strangers shambled into the lounge. Carey smiled at the new arrivals...until a foul smelling odor made its way to her nose.

"Ugh," she commented. "Where was their costume party at? The city dump?"

Nonetheless, Carey took to the stage and greeted her audience.

"Happy Halloween everyone. I'm Carey Martin, and I thought I'd open tonight's show with audience requests. So let me hear what you want."

"Brains!" a number of individuals moaned from the audience.

"Um…I'm not familiar with that song," she replied. "And could everyone please take their seats?"

But to Carey's horror, the shambling newcomers didn't sit down. Instead they surrounded the few people that had already been seated…and attacked them. People screamed as they were bitten and torn apart.

"Skippy!" Carey cried out as she stumbled backwards in shock.

The terrified night manager ran to her side. "Oh lord!" he exclaimed. "Oh lord, oh lord, oh lord! I think those are real zombies!"

Unfortunately for the frightened duo, the zombies quickly made short work of the human audience members and surged forward onto the stage. There was nowhere for Carey or Skippy to run.

"Brains!" the creatures moaned as they reached out and grabbed Skippy. He was too overcome with terror to put up much of a fight…but oddly, the zombies started to hesitate. None of them bit the man, and a few seemed to sniff at him.

"Brains?" one zombie said in a questioning tone. Several of the monsters stared at Skippy and then shook their heads. They pushed the man aside and ignored him as they turned towards Carey.

Skippy never was that bright.

But as the dim-witted young man fearfully crawled towards the exit, Carey was still in mortal danger. She screamed as multiple zombies took hold of her, and soon found herself lifted into the air as the monsters began to engage in an impromptu game of tug of war…with Carey serving as the rope.

"Please don't eat me!" she cried. "I don't want to die!"

"Hey, sorry," one of the zombies replied. "But it's what we do. We'll try and make it easy on you though."

The insanity of the situation managed to momentarily cut through Carey's terror and she gave the speaking zombie an incredulous look.

"You're trying to make me your dinner! How could you possibly make that easy for me?" she demanded.

"Well, we could just start chomping on you," a blonde female zombie spoke up. "Bite through your skull while you're still alive and rip out chunks of your brain to pass around. You'd be surprised how long you'll stay alive while we do that."

Carey started to feel very ill.

"Or we can just bite through your jugular first," the male zombie said. "You'll bleed to death pretty fast. Won't be in pain very long. Which would you prefer?"

Carey looked around for some means of escape, but saw none. The grips of the zombies were too strong to break. She realized she was about to die…when a loud crashing sound came from the far side of the room.

"UNHAND THAT BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!" an electronic sounding voice called out.

Carey and all the zombies looked over to see a very odd sight. It was either a robot or a man in some sort of mechanical armor. Whatever it was, it appeared to be made of junk and spare parts. But junky-looking or not, it appeared formidable enough to have crashed through the wall. And when the nearest zombie tried to attack it, the mechanical marvel casually threw the monster across the room.

"What the heck is that?" the female zombie asked.

"I don't care," Carey said quickly. "Please save me!"

The armored figure lifted a hand to its head and pushed up the visor on its helmet…revealing the face of Arwin Hawkhauser.

"Don't worry, Carey! I'll save you!" he shouted. He then began to march towards the zombies holding her.

Unfortunately, before he was halfway to them, a few sparks shot out of his left leg and the suit stopped moving.

"Arwin?" Carey said in a worried voice.

"Umm…just a minute," he said nervously. "There's a short somewhere. I can fix it easy down in my workshop." He paused. "Which may be a problem, because I can't move right now."

A few zombies moved towards the unlucky inventor.

"Oh good," he said. "Could you guys help me get out of this suit? Hey…wait! AIEEEE!"

Carey winced and closed her eyes as the zombies made a meal of Arwin's brain.

"Now it's time for the main course," said one of the zombies holding Carey.

She opened her eyes and swallowed hard. "You were saying before about biting through my jugular?"

"That the way you want it?" the zombie asked.

She nodded and whimpered out a "Yes."

Carey screamed again as the monster lowered his mouth to her throat. Mercifully, he'd been telling the truth before. She bled to death far too quickly to feel much pain.

*************

"NO!" Carey screamed as she sat up in bed. The end of her nightmare had felt frighteningly real.

A strong pair of arms wrapped around her in a comforting embrace.

"Bad dream?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," she answered as she leaned against her lover. "Sorry if I woke you."

"Now, now…it's okay." He kissed her cheek. "Want to talk about it?"

Carey slowly recounted the nightmare to Nick. She was grateful to how comforting and understanding he was. Even though they'd only been together for a few weeks, Carey felt very close to Nick. He was like no other man she'd ever known.

"It was just so horrible," she concluded as she finished telling about her dream. "To be eaten like that. To go from being a woman with hopes and dreams to just…food."

Nick kissed her again, before whispering in her ear. "Darling, you know you are so much more than just food."

Carey smiled. She could tell from his tone what was coming next.

Nick extended his fangs and bit into Carey's neck. She let out a contented sigh as he drank from her while at the same time using his hands to touch her in just the right places.

After he took her mouth away from her neck, he gazed lovingly into her eyes before kissing her. Carey licked some of her own blood from his lips and sighed once more when he ended the kiss.

"Again?" she asked hopefully.

"Not until you've had some rest," he answered. "You know we could do that far more often if you'd just let me make you a vampire too."

"I told you that has to wait," she replied. "First I need to explain to my boys that I'm dating a vampire."

"I know, I know," Nick said. He kissed her again and smiled. "Happy Halloween darling."

She smiled back. "Happy Halloween."

*************

The End.

_**author's note:**_ _Thank you for reading. Please review._


	3. James Doyle

**It Came From the Bilges**

**By**

**James Doyle**

In the wee hours of the morning aboard the _S.S. Tipton_, Cody Martin and his girlfriend Bailey Pickett worked secretly in the science lab, with Cody's long-time friend and mentor Arwin Hawkhauser consulting via satellite feed.

"I think we're finished here," announced Cody, holding up a vile of a noxious-looking bubbling chemical concoction.

"I'm not feeding that to Porkers!" insisted Bailey.

"It only looks vile," assured Arwin. "Thanks to your improvements on my sentience formula, your little piggy friend will be doing quadratic equations in his head by the end of the week."

"Maybe we should try it on London," snarked Cody, garnering a dirty look from his girlfriend.

"Alright," acquiesced Bailey, "But we'll start with the smallest possible dose and work our way up."

"Agreed," said Cody. "Now let's get to bed."

"That would be a good idea," interjected Marion Moseby, startling them. Emma Tutweiler stood beside him with the same scowl on her face.

"I'd expect this sort of tomfoolery from Zack, but from the two of you?" continued Moseby. "I must say, I am supremely disappointed."

"You should be proud of us, Mr. Moseby," argued Cody. "We're on the verge of a scientific breakthrough."

"And just what kind of breakthrough would that be?" demanded Tutweiler.

"Don't tell her anything," whispered Bailey.

Moseby approached closer, making Cody extremely uncomfortable, causing him to crawl up onto the lab bench.

"We're developing a genetic modification formula to enhance the intellectual capabilities of lower mammals," blurted Cody, crossing his arms to shield his face from Moseby's wrath.

"That has got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," said Tutweiler as she picked up the vile. "I can't believe you'd waste school resources on something this frivolous."

"No, don't do that!" pleaded Cody as Tutweiler approached the nearest sink. She ignored his pleas and poured the concoction down the drain.

Several days later, London and Bailey sat in their cabin as London prepared her costume for the Halloween Hop.

"So, what are you going to the Hop as?" asked London.

"I'm not going," reminded Bailey. "I'm confined to quarters except for school and meals, remember?"

London chuckled. "And you're actually going to listen to them?"

"Yes, London, I am," said Bailey through gritted teeth. "Because unlike you, they can and will kick me out of the Seven Seas High program if I screw up again."

"Oh, big deal," dismissed London. "So you wouldn't have to deal with this stupid sea school anymore. Sounds more like a prize than a punishment to me."

"Even if that were true, I wouldn't be able to see Cody anymore."

"If you ask me, you should've dumped him weeks ago."

Bailey growled. "Still chewing on that piece of hay? If I didn't know better, I'd say you had designs on him."

"Me and Cody?" retorted London. "Please! You may be out of his league, but I'm not even playing the same sport!"

"Whatever," dismissed Bailey, weary of the discussion at hand. "Go, have a great time, and feel free to rub it in when you get back."

London grinned. "Thanks, I will."

London arrived at the Halloween Hop, dressed as Queen Arachnia from the old _Captain Proton _serials, a costume that Cody had recommended to Bailey (having intended to show up as the Captain himself,) but which London took the liberty of stealing when Bailey couldn't go.

There, she found Woody dressed as Fred Flintstone, accompanied by Addison, dressed as Wilma. Off in the distance, she spied Zack Martin, dressed as Barney Rubble, and working his mojo on his date, who had attended as Betty Rubble.

"Check out all the Hannah Montana costumes," observed Woody.

London snorted. "Please! Hannah Montana is so two years ago. Trust me, Oliver Oken is the next big thing."

"Oh yeah," agreed Woody. "I saw him on _America's Next Top Talent_. He's awesome. Though I think he and Hannah know each other."

"That's ridiculous," argued London. "She said outright that she didn't know him."

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends...and Zack," announced Moseby. "Our bobbing for apples competition will start in five minutes. The first five people behind the barrels will be in the contest."

Woody, Addison, London, Zack, and his date jockeyed for position and took their places behind the barrels.

"Why am I not surprised?" groaned Moseby. "All right, contestants. To your marks. Get set. Go!"

Water splashed all over the ballroom floor as the five friends did their best to outdo each other. London triumphed over Zack with eleven apples to his ten.

"We have a winner!" announced Moseby.

"Yay me!" exclaimed London.

Meanwhile, Cody arrived in Bailey's cabin, bearing a single red rose.

"Sorry I'm late, babe," said Cody in his most suave voice. "Had some trouble dodging the fuzz."

Bailey giggled. "Cody, you're so cute when you're being subversive."

Cody plopped himself down on the bed and put an arm around Bailey. "And what about you? Inviting me to sneak into the girls' dorms in violation of school rules and lock-down."

"Well," explained Bailey in a seductive voice as she stroked Cody's chin. "London enlightened me this afternoon as to how much fun bending the rules can be."

"In that case," replied Cody. "Bend anything you want."

With that, Bailey attacked his lips and pulled him down on top of her.

London joined her friends at their table, exhausted from her victory. She refreshed herself by downing several glasses of apple cider punch.

"This punch is really good," commented London.

"That's because of my secret ingredient," snickered Zack.

London's face contorted as she felt something moving in her bowels. "What secret ingredient?"

"Megalax," volunteered Woody. Before Zack could chide him for giving it away, roughly half of the guests, including London, made best possible speed for the heads, prompting Woody and Zack to burst out laughing. They slowly returned to reality when they realized Moseby was standing behind them with his glare of disapproval.

"I should've known you two would pull a stunt like this," scolded Moseby.

Cody and Bailey found their clandestine rendezvous to be highly exhilarating, and found their hands and lips venturing to places they'd never dared venture before.

"Take me, Cody," demanded Bailey.

"Are you sure?" asked Cody.

"If all we have is this moment, I want to make it count. Don't ruin the moment by arguing with me. Just take me!"

Cody offered no argument and moved from petting into foreplay.

After about twenty minutes, the guests had failed to return from the heads, and many others had returned to their cabins.

Moseby sighed. "No sense letting all of this food go to waste. Zack, Woody, have it."

Zack and Woody wasted no time and gorged themselves at the buffet table. As he was loading his plate with nachos, Woody smelled something foul, and discovered it to be a tentacle wrapped around his neck. He fainted with horror when he turned to face his attacker.

London burst into her cabin and proceeded forthwith to the head, completely ignoring the half-naked couple on her bed.

"London," yelled Bailey through the closed door. "There's bathrooms on the Sky Deck right outside the ballroom."

"Ew," protested London. "As if I'd ever use a _public _bathroom."

The sounds and smells emanating from the head proved a highly effective anti-aphrodisiac.

Bailey sighed. "So much for a romantic evening."

"Maybe I can get back before London sees me," suggested Cody as he pulled up his pants. However, London burst forth from the head, quashing any such notion.

"You guys," she panted, "Are in so much...trouble...give me one good reason...why I shouldn't...call Moseby...right now...and..."

Before she could finish, she collapsed onto the bed.

"Cody, she's turning green," observed Bailey.

"London, what happened?" asked Cody.

"I don't know," she quivered. "I drank the bad punch, I dropped a major deuce in the toilet...and I felt something come up and attack me."

"We'd better get her to the infirmary," recommended Bailey. Cody nodded, and with Cody's arms under London's shoulders, and Bailey's under her knees, they proceeded to carry her to the infirmary. As they turned the corner onto the deck, they ran into Kirby, the _Tipton_'s loveable but physically-imposing security chief.

"Ha!" exclaimed Kirby. "I got a tip that you two might be out of zone. Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?"

"You can bust our chops later," interrupted Cody. "We need to get London to the infirmary."

Seeing London's chartreuse complexion, Kirby offered no argument, but instead slung her over his shoulder and led Cody and Bailey to the infirmary.

Once they arrived, Kirby laid London upon a cot and fastened the restraints.

"What are you doing?" demanded Bailey.

"I've seen this before," informed Kirby. "We can't stop it, but we can slow it down. Get me the defibrillator."

Cody handed Kirby the device, then both he and Bailey turned around to preserve what remained of London's dignity.

"Clear!" shouted Kirby as he shocked her. Cody and Bailey were shocked to find London still conscious as Kirby covered her with a blanket.

"What's happening to me?" croaked London.

"I don't have time to explain," said Kirby. "Bailey, stay with her. If she starts to get uppity, you know what to do. Cody, you're with me."

Cody and Bailey nodded and did as instructed.

"Kirby to Haggis," said Kirby into his radio as he and Cody ran.

"Haggis here," replied the ship's grubby engineer.

"We've got a Code 13 on our hands."

"Code 13? Ye be sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Meet me at the Purser's locker."

"Copy that. Over and out."

Cody and Kirby met Haggis in the Purser's Office, where Haggis issued them each a weapon vaguely resembling a weed-whacker, with a pistol grip on the bulky end of the device, and a carrying handle about halfway along the long, translucent barrel.

"What are these?" asked Cody.

"It's an EM cannon," explained Haggis. "An experimental weapon designed by the U.S. Navy. Highly classified."

"And we have them because?"

"Because they knew what we're dealing with here might show up again," supplied Kirby.

"And just what are we dealing with?" asked Bailey, back in the infirmary.

"A sentient microorganism," croaked London. "They evolve from bacteria in the bilge tanks of ships, and a collective consciousness."

"How do you know all this?"

"They're trying to take control of my brain," explained London. "I'm fighting them."

London shut her eyes tightly as she cried out in pain. When she opened them, her distinctive brown irises and corneas had been replaced with a yellow-green iris with a vertical slit, like unto that of a cobra.

"She can fight all she wants," said the creature who had taken control of London, adding reverb to her voice. "She may even triumph. It does not matter. Wherever one of us triumphs, we all triumph."

Cody, Kirby, and Haggis arrived in the ballroom, where most of the guests had nearly completed their transformation into hideous green, scaly creatures with stringy tan hair, yellow-green snakelike eyes, forked tongues, tentacles attached at several points along their spines, and smelling of bilge water. Many of them came to just as the three arrived, and jolted to life to begin their attack.

"Alright men," ordered Haggis. "Let's let 'em have it!"

Cody took a moment to get used to the recoil as he fired a shining plasma burst with a glowing ion trail into the ceiling. After getting control of his weapon, he assisted Kirby and Haggis in blasting down all of the creatures in the ballroom.

"Kirby, help me secure our visitors," ordered Haggis. "Cody, keep that weapon hot."

"Curses!" cursed the London creature, still unable to escape from her bed.

"Something go wrong with your plan?" taunted Bailey.

"Some friends of yours have incapacitated some of us. We've lost contact with them."

"Sounds like we've got the bull by the horns."

"Bah," retorted the creature. "A minor setback. There are several more of us taking form. It's only a matter of time before we overpower them."

London turned to Bailey and smiled. "Your friend London, however, is a strong one. She continues to resist us. The inner workings of her mind are extraordinary."

Bailey snorted. "If that's what you think, you've snatched the wrong body."

"Ah, but she hides much from you. She does not wish anyone to know the full extent of her power, because she herself is frightened of it. When we finally take control of her, we shall be unstoppable! And to think, we owe our conquest to you, Bailey Pickett."

"Me?" protested Bailey. "I wouldn't give you the privilege of living in the pit of my outhouse!"

"Ah, but you've already given us so much more than that. You breathed the spirit of life into the primordial bowels of this vessel from whence we came."

Bailey became nearly catatonic as she realized her role in the current crisis. "The sentience formula. Miss Tutweiler poured it down the drain, and it did its thing on you."

"Indeed. And when we take control of you and your beloved, we will awaken our comrades in bilge tanks, sewers, and septic tanks throughout the world. We will inundate your world with the contaminants your civilization produces, and we will thrive, and become the dominant race on this planet. Perhaps even beyond."

Just then, the creature began twitching, and a cry of pain came out in London's voice.

"London," exclaimed Bailey. "Is that you?"

"No time," cried London. "You have to kill me."

"I can't do it," argued Bailey.

"You have to. There's no other way. There's a bottle of bleach in the closet. Fill up a needle with it and stick me."

"You're not London," realized Bailey. "The London I know would keep fighting until her last breath."

The creature laughed. "Very observant, Bailey Pickett. The bleach wouldn't have killed us, but we had hoped it would weaken London's resolve. We suppose we shall have to be patient."

"That's it!" cried Bailey, provoked to wrath. She charged the paddles to maximum and zapped the creature once again.

"London, if you can hear me, keep fighting!" urged Bailey.

"I hear you, Bailey," said London's voice. "I won't give up. Please, stay with me."

"I will," assured Bailey.

The creature growled as it regained control. "You should know that _really _hurts. We suppose that we'll zap you a few times during your transformation, just to show you how it feels."

"I kin these creatures have taken the bridge," commented Haggis as he, Cody, and Kirby blasted creatures as they made their way forward.

"Then we'll just have to take it back," said Cody.

"And do what?" asked Kirby.

"Call the Navy, or the Coast Guard," suggested Haggis.

"Even if they blow us out of the water, some of the creatures still in the bilges might escape into the ocean and find their way onto another ship, or land," argued Cody.

"You got a better idea?" retorted Kirby.

"You said these creatures were extremely sensitive to high-intensity EM radiation, right?"

Haggis nodded.

"Well, my underground sources tell me that there's a North Korean nuclear weapons test scheduled for tomorrow. If we change course and proceed at full flank, we should be close enough to catch the EMP without getting radiated too badly."

"I don't think we can last another day, kid," argued Kirby.

"Then we'll just have to find a way to move it up."

The three of them made their way onto the bridge and dispatched the two creatures manning the helm. Kirby stood guard at the hatch while Haggis aligned the communications array for a video conference.

Arwin yawned as he activated his webcam. "Alright, Cody. What's so important it couldn't wait until morning?"

"The ship's been taken over by bilge monsters," explained Cody.

"Yeah, real funny, Cody," replied Arwin. "Goodnight."

"Just look," pleaded Cody as Haggis held up one of the incapacitated creatures. Arwin cried out with his trademark primal scream.

"Tutweiler poured the sentience formula down the drain. It must have taken hold of whatever's living down in the bilges."

"Right," agreed Arwin. "What can I do to help?"

"I need you to hack into North Korean Military Intelligence and launch the medium-range missile scheduled for testing tomorrow."

"You want me to violate the national security of a sovereign nation and cause an international incident?"

"And just how are zombies who wanna take over the world _not _an international incident?" interjected Kirby as he blasted creatures coming up the steps.

"Good point," conceded Arwin.

"I'd do it myself, but I've kind of got my hands full," explained Cody.

"Alright," agreed Arwin. "I'll give it my best shot."

The three men made their way back to the Sky Deck, which they found to be remarkably quiet.

"Alright," instructed Haggis. "The ship's course is set and the controls have been destroyed. We should round up anyone who hasn't been infected and hold our ground until Arwin comes through for us."

"You guys go ahead," said Cody. "There's something I need to take care of."

"Aye," agreed Haggis. "Godspeed, young lad."

Cody blasted his way to the infirmary. As he came through the door, London charged at him, whom he dispatched with a blast from his EM cannon. He shut the door behind him and secured it with whatever he could push in front of it. He found Bailey sitting on the floor, already beginning to turn green. He also found that his weapon had only two shots left.

"It's too late, Cody," whimpered Bailey. "She's already infected me."

Without hesitation, Cody blasted Bailey with his weapon.

"We caught it early enough. It shouldn't spread any further," said Cody as he sat on the floor next to Bailey and put his arms around her.

"Cody, why did you do that?" asked Bailey, observing the readout on Cody's weapon.

"It wasn't a hard choice," answered Cody. "I love you, Bailey."

"I love you too, Cody. Please don't leave me."

Cody squeezed her tighter. "I won't leave you. Ever."

A few hours later, Cody could hear footsteps on the deck plates above them, meaning that the effects of the EM bursts were beginning to wear off. London began to awaken, and Cody returned her to unconsciousness with a blast from EM cannon. Immediately thereafter, all the lights and readouts on the weapon went dark.

"Alright, Arwin," whispered Cody. "It's all you."

No sooner had Cody said this than the flash of a nuclear detonation came through the porthole and filled the infirmary with blinding light. Throughout the ship, the creatures collapsed onto the deck and convulsed before going limp.

A few days later, Lieutenant Denae Richardson, a Navy doctor, came in to see Cody.

"Well, Mr. Martin," began Richardson, "I don't know how it's possible, but you're the only person on that entire ship who wasn't infected."

"What about the others?" asked Cody.

"A few of the more elderly passengers didn't survive, but the rest should make a full recovery. Their natural physiology should reassert itself within a few weeks."

"So I guess Arwin came through for us."

"You mean Mr. Hawkhauser? No, Homeland Security pounced on him fairly quickly. When he demonstrated his sentience formula, the State Department created a cover story and arranged for the North Koreans to reschedule their nuclear test. Before I go any further, I should remind you that all of this is classified, and your cooperation will be required."

"As long as you make sure this never happens again, I'll do anything you want," agreed Cody. "When can I see Bailey?"

"She should clear quarantine in another day. We'll have to wait until you're all back to normal before we allow you ashore, of course. Rest up, Mr. Martin. You've earned it."

Meanwhile, in the cabin where London and Bailey had been quarantined below decks, London examined herself in a mirror. Her physiology had begun to return to normal, and at present, she sported one cobra eye, and one brown eye.

"Ugh," reviled London. "Green is definitely not my color."

Bailey laughed. "Don't worry, you'll be back to your beautiful old self before you know it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said London. She then stood up out of her bottom bunk and leaned against her roommate's top bunk. "I don't think you've ever called me beautiful before."

"Haven't I? Well, I should've."

London took Bailey's hand. "And I should've told you the same. I guess I was just too jealous."

"Jealous of what?" asked Bailey.

"The truth is, I do have feelings for Cody. I have ever since he started doing my web show. That's why I fired him. I wasn't ready to deal with those feelings yet."

"I appreciate your honesty, London," said Bailey. "But you're putting me in an awkward position here."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you won't hear any more nagging from me for you to break up with Cody. I was barely conscious after he blasted me that last time, but I saw what he did. He only had two shots left, and he used one of them to save you. It's pretty clear that he loves you, and you love him." London began to tear up. "And you're the best thing that's ever happened to him. It would be selfish and stupid of me to stand in the way of that."

"I really appreciate that," said Bailey, gently squeezing her friend's hand.

A few weeks later, most of the passengers had fully recovered, and Cody and Bailey stood on deck as they sailed into Japan, watching the sun set over the mountains.

"So what now?" asked Cody.

"Mr. Tipton purchased a new ship," answered Bailey. "He wants to keep the Seven Seas High program going."

"I'm glad. I was afraid we'd blown it for everybody."

"If you ask me, it's Tutweiler's fault," argued Bailey. "Honestly, you don't pour just anything down the drain."

"Yeah, but we shouldn't have been making unauthorized use of the lab."

"So, my partner in crime," said Bailey as she put her arms around Cody's neck. "I think the lesson here is that some rules just aren't worth bending."

Cody grinned as he allowed his hand to move across Bailey's backside. "And yet, some rules are totally worth bending."

**The End**

_Thanks to Lodylodylody and Woundedhearts for issuing the challenge. This is my first attempt at writing horror. I hope it meets with your approval._


	4. Snapplelinz

**I Think My Boyfriend's a Vampire**

**By: Snapplelinz**

**Bailey's POV:**

"I'd never given much thought to how I would die – though I'd had reason enough in the last few months – but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this… I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision..."

My eyes flitted away from the page I was reading and I sighed loudly. Addison had finally gotten me to crack. The one book that I had sworn I wouldn't read now lay conveniently in my lap.

I'd convinced myself that I didn't need to get sucked into the latest teenage fad, especially when it involved vampires. But somehow, Addison had still found a way to suck me into her  
latest obsession: Robert Pattinson.

Don't get me wrong, the guy's gorgeous, but I've never been into the whole vampire saga. That is, until Addison and London dragged me to an exclusive preview of the film 'Twilight' on board the S.S. Tipton during our semester at sea program one Friday night.

It wasn't at all what I expected. From that moment on, I was irrevocably hooked. Something about the overall plot just struck a chord with me.

Maybe it was the lack of usual blood and exaggerated gore that came with traditional vampire flicks. Or maybe I could identify better with the romance between Bella and Edward now that Cody and I were dating.

Ah, Cody Martin. He is everything I could possibly want in a boyfriend: smart, funny, cute, sensitive, loyal, great hairline. I still remember that first kiss we shared back on the S.S. Tipton.

Hannah Montana had come aboard for a special concert and Cody had done everything in his power to get tickets just for the two of us. It was seriously the best night of my natural born  
life.

From there on out, we'd been inseparable, that is, until he and Zack came back to Boston for the summer to spend time with their mom, Carey. I went back to Kettlecorn to visit my own family and our farm.

Cody and I kept in touch via every form of technology: text messaging, email, web-cam. And just when I was beginning to miss him intensely, he invited me to come visit him in  
Boston at his home, the Tipton.

At this point in time, I was both excited and tremendously relieved. After our last conversation a la web-cam, Cody just  
hadn't seemed right to me. He smiled and joked like usual, but something seemed different.

He had looked absurdly good-looking; to the point that it made it hard for me to look away from him even for an instant. But his complexion was a ghostly pallor and he had noticeable bags under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in weeks.

So as soon as I got the okay from my parents, I packed several suitcases (I'm still a girl, right!) and took the next flight out to Boston.

My fears practically dissipated when I found Cody waiting for me at the airport, flowers in hand and that same adorable smile I'd grown to love. I can't believe it took me so long to realize how good we were together.

I threw my arms around him and kissed him like we'd never have to come up for air again. My skin practically erupted into goose bumps because of his cold hands, but I shrugged it off at the time as my body's way of telling me that I had missed Cody's touch.

And this is where I find myself, sitting in a suite on the 23rd floor (arranged by Mr. Moseby, who had returned to his old  
job), reading my newest favorite book and listening to the pitter patter of soft rain outside my window.

Zack and Cody had also invited Woody along too, for a visit to Boston and I could tell he was stoked. Woody didn't have that many friends and he seemed genuinely attached to the twins.

Besides getting to spend time with my awesome boyfriend, I was excited about the prospect of hanging out with London Tipton, my former roommate aboard the S.S. Tipton and good friend, as well as some of Zack and Cody's friends like Maddie (Zack's somewhat cougar crush), Max and Bob.

I'd been looking forward to hanging out with all of them and exploring Boston during my visit. But the rain seemed to hamper all of my outdoor plans.

There was at least one advantage to this: I got to spend more time during the day (and after-hours) snuggling with Cody indoors.

The drawback: listening to Woody trying to tell me about the number of instruments he was learning to play at the same time  
during the summer vacation, one of them being the bongos.

It was the rainy weather that first alerted me to the strangeness of the situation. Granted, it wasn't unusual for there to be a lot of rainy days in Boston in July. In fact, it kind of reminded me of the not-so-fictional town of Forks, Washington.

What amused me initially was Cody's sudden fondness for walking, sometimes running, in the rain and often dragging me along too. But after getting drenched during one particularly bad thunderstorm, I decided to put my walks in the rain on hiatus.

Growing up in Kettlecorn had taught me to love the sultry summer months and I looked forward to when sunlight would peek  
through the persistent clouds. But when it finally did, Cody wasn't as enthusiastic as I thought he would be.

He literally dug in his heels every time I suggested a walk in the park. It's like he was afraid that if he stepped out in the sunlight, he'd burst into flames.

Then things started to get a little strange…and stinky. Ew, Woody just cut the cheese again, and this time to 'Claire de Lune'. That song is totally ruined for me now.

At first, there were little things that set my suspicions on high alert. But then, piece by piece, I began to sift through the things that had unfolded, things that didn't make sense in the natural world. And it all started with Zack and London's mysterious illness.

When I first arrived in Boston, I'd barely seen either one of them. Cody told me on the cab ride to the hotel not to expect to see too much of them at first since they were both bedridden for at least 3 weeks.

The doctor who examined them said that they had caught a bad case of the flu while travelling abroad on the S.S. Tipton. Cody explained that it had taken several weeks for any visible symptoms to appear such as sinusitis and a high fever.

Since the diagnosis, Carey and Mr. Moseby had made sure that Zack and London had stayed in their rooms, having minimal contact with people and the outside world in general.

When Zack finally did recover and I got to see him, I felt a subtle tension between him and Cody. But I shrugged it off as I leant in towards Zack and hugged him properly. I had to stop myself from jumping backwards from the strange jolt that went through my system.

"What's wrong Bailey? You seem 'shocked'." Zack teased lightly.

"Zack, are you sure you're over your fever? Your skin feels like it's on fire." I pointed out quickly.

"What can I say? I always knew I was too hot to handle." Zack joked with a seedy grin.

"Knock it off Zack," Cody retorted with a grin that barely reached his eyes.

Ever since meeting Zack and Cody, I'd always known that they were as different as day and night. So naturally, they would clash and bicker like an old married couple. But something was different this time, and I couldn't place my finger on it.

I tried to distract myself from this alarming thought when I finally got to see London properly. She seemed her normal perky self. But her skin, like Zack's, was a shade warmer than normal body heat. And was it just my imagination, or was London looking more tanned than usual?

That wasn't normal for someone who had just recovered from a case of really bad flu. Aren't you supposed to drop a shade or two in skin tone when you're that sick?

"Bailey, why are you looking at me like that? Are you staring at my new 18-carat diamond earrings? Daddy gave them to me after I stayed on the S.S. Tipton for 4 whole months without trying to escape once in my submarine." London explained eagerly.

"Sure." I agreed uncertainly, willing my head to stop concocting such fantastical thoughts.

Then I met Maddie, Max and Bob. I had already met Bob aboard the S.S. Tipton when he and Barbara's, Cody ex-girlfriend had come to visit the twins.

I remembered his flaming red hair and toothy grin. But what I didn't expect was the alabaster tinge to his skin, which somehow accentuated his looks. Oh my God, am I perving on my boyfriend's best friend? This was beyond weird.

If I thought I was perving on Bob, then my reaction to Maddie and Max was bordering on muff-diving. They were both exquisitely beautiful in different ways: Max with her copper skin and hazel eyes; Maddie with her almost translucent skin and wait – are her eyes gold? Gold's not a primary eye color, right?

I was beginning to feel like I had stepped into an episode of  
Gossip Girl or One Tree Hill with all these absurdly beautiful people surrounding me. Well, save for Woody that is.

After hearing how Zack had spoken so fondly of Maddie during our semester at sea program, I was strangely surprised to come across them at the candy counter arguing in heated whispers. The gist of what I overheard made the cogs in my brain turn even more.

"Zack, I really think you should be more careful. This isn't something to play with." Maddie protested.

"I can handle it, Maddie, you worry too much." Zack responded tersely.

"How can you be so cavalier about this? Normal people don't act this way." Maddie hissed impatiently.

"Well, I'm not normal, remember? It's like you said, maybe it's just a phase." Zack retorted snidely.

"This isn't funny, Zack. Someone could've gotten hurt." Maddie complained shortly.

"You're one to talk, Maddie. And that incident with Liam was just a misunderstanding? And all because he found out your secret –"

"That's enough, Zack! Why are you acting like this? We've always been able to talk about anything. Don't shut me out." Maddie pleaded, looking on the verge of tears.

"Well things are different now, aren't they, Maddie? Why don't you just face facts and get over it? Things can't go back to the way they used to be. We're not the same anymore, not by a long shot."

And with that, Zack stalked off back towards the elevators, leaving Maddie standing behind the candy counter with a forlorn expression. I decided to follow him and find out what was going on. But before I got to the Martins' suite, I nearly jumped out of my skin when Zack suddenly appeared behind me.

"Looking' for me, sweet thang?" he enquired in a friendly tone.

"Geez, Zack, you scared the ** out of me! Since when have you had padded feet?" I asked flippantly, feeling thoroughly put out.

"I've always been as stealthy as a jungle cat, or a lone wolf." Zack remarked teasingly.

There was something about his statement that I couldn't quite put my finger on, which instantly made me uneasy.

"I came to see if you were okay. I saw you and Maddie in the lobby earlier. Did you guys have a fight?" I asked in a concerned tone.

Zack shrugged once before answering, but I could tell he was on his guard now.

"It's nothing. Maddie and I haven't been seeing eye to eye for a while on a lot of things," he replied casually.

"Zack, maybe you should just talk to her-"

"Forget about Maddie, Bailey. I'd much rather hang out with you, that's if you can pry yourself away from Cody these days." Zack quipped in an unrecognizably scathing tone. Was Zack flirting with me, be it ever so subtly?

"Cody and I are making up for lost time, Zack." I retorted defensively.

"Everything okay here?"

I whipped around and saw that Cody had entered the hallway too. Sheesh, does no one make a sound when they're walking around anymore?

"Yeah, Cody, everything's fine." I answered quickly with a smile.

"Yeah, Codery, we're just talking. Don't be such a leech." Zack  
retorted with a callous smile.

"Bailey, could you please go wait for me in your suite? I'd like to have a word with my dear brother." Cody stated in a serene voice.

"Cody?" I asked quizzically, noticing that strange tension between him and Zack once more.

"Everything's fine. I just need to talk to, Zack, about something real quick. I'll see you in 5 minutes." Cody answered reassuringly.

He then kissed me quickly on the lips and opened the door of their suite. Zack followed him with an angry stance and the door clicked back into place.

I know I should've just gone straight back to my suite, but my overriding sense of logic succumbed to my burning curiosity.

I tiptoed towards the door and pressed my ear up against it, hoping I'd hear something. And yet another strange conversation ensued:

"What do you think you're doing, Zack?" Cody demanded in a dangerously low voice.

"What?" Zack asked, feigning innocence.

"You know damn well what. It's bad enough being so careless with everything that's already happened. But to involve Bailey as well –"

"Involve Bailey? We were just talking, big deal." Zack spat carelessly.

"Yeah, it is a big deal, Zack. If you get too close to her –"

"You think I would intentionally hurt Bailey? Last time I checked, you were the one who's supposed to be careful around her, being so much more indestructible, that is."

"I can't talk to you like this, you're being an ** as usual. Just keep your distance." Cody snapped angrily.

"Sure, sure." Zack retorted sarcastically.

I decided that was my cue to leave. I quickly took out my card key, opened the door to my suite and leapt in. I stood against the wall for a few minutes, thinking about everything that I'd heard today. But even the words I'd heard couldn't come close to what my eyes began telling me.

There was still a definite tension in the air. But something about all of it made me start scrutinizing Cody a lot more. He seemed distant, especially when were alone.

He still touched me and kissed me, but he seemed like he was trying to be more careful this time, like he was afraid he was going to break me. Is that what Zack had been referring to? Or was it something else?

That's when my mind travelled back to several strange things I'd already seen in the past few weeks. The first was Zack and Cody's behavior in general.

Was it just my imagination, or were they both sporting very different hairstyles? Since I'd known the Martin twins, they'd always had similar haircuts.

Now Zack appeared to have shaved his long mane of blonde hair into a military buzz cut. Cody had cut his hair too, but styled his blonde locks it into immaculate disarray. Were those orange tints in his hair too? In short, Cody looked mouth wateringly good. I couldn't stop looking at him like he was something to eat.

I'd never known Zack to be vain about his body, but he seemed to be sporting next to nothing these days. Mr. Moseby once yanked Zack by the ear out of the lobby when he dared to exit the elevators, wearing nothing but a pair of blue cut-off jeans.

Right as Zack and Mr. Moseby passed me, hissing and snapping at each other, I snuck a peek at Zack's bulging biceps and rippling muscles. Damn, what kind of Popeye diet did Carey have the twins on?

And speaking of food, Zack seemed to be shoveling in five to ten helpings of food a day while Cody didn't seem to have an appetite period. Whenever I asked him about it, all he'd say was that he'd caught a stomach virus and couldn't keep anything down.

So he was trying to minimize his food in-take. I could understand that if it had only been for a few days. But for a few weeks? I'd known Cody to be somewhat reclusive and introverted next to Zack's charming and bubbly personality, but I'd never known him to be musical.

On our recent bout of dates in the hotel, we always seemed to end up in the music lounge after hours. And then out of nowhere, Cody would begin playing some hauntingly beautiful tune on the piano, his fingers racing effortlessly across the keys.

But what Cody seemed to enjoy the most wasn't playing itself, but the mere fact that I was usually laying across a recliner in a sexy (and may I say uncomfortable) pose watching him play seemed to be quite the turn on for him.

It wasn't just Zack and Cody who were acting strangely. I began to notice other things about their friends too. While Zack, Max and London of all people seemed to be dressing down on a regular basis in plain jeans and t-shirts, Cody, Maddie and Bob always seemed to be sporting some new item of fashionable attire that I'd never see them wear before.

I felt like I'd stepped into an episode of 'Project Runway'. Cody and Bob didn't strike me as being particularly fashionable to begin with. And isn't Maddie supposed be poor?

It seemed strange that the six of them had split off down the middle into two distinct groups, each vastly different from the other in tastes and style. It did seem a little strange that Max came referring to her clique in plural at every opportunity, like they did everything together.

Again, there was a strange tension in the air, like the six of them were gearing up for a fight. And there was all this talk about an 'ancient battle'. Whatever was going on, Woody seemed to be completely oblivious to it. It was time to take matters into my own hands.

I began experiencing heart failure at the most trivial things. My head was desperately trying to tell me what was going on while my heart stubbornly refused to believe it.

Okay, am I imagining things, or did Cody just rip large bush from its roots just outside the Tipton's main entrance? Bob was with him too and barely flinched at the movement.

And then on another occasion, I hid behind a pot plant and saw London entering stealthily into a storage room just outside her suite, while Woody and Maddie appeared to be waiting outside in the hallway. Instead of London exiting the room, a golden brown dog with a wolfish quality to it leapt out and dashed eagerly towards Woody.

"Hey there, little guy! Isn't your fur coat just looking oh so shiny? Yes it is, yes it is," Woody crooned, burying his face into the dog's fur.

"Woody, it's a she. How can you stand to be so close to her? She stinks." Maddie put in irritably, wrinkling her nose in distaste. The dog in turn bared its teeth at Maddie and growled menacingly.

"What is Maddie talking about? You don't smell bad to me at all," Woody murmured softly to the dog.

"Birds of a feather," Maddie quipped dryly while rolling her eyes.

After escaping to the lobby, I clutched at a stitch in my side and tried to catch my breath. Was I the only one noticing any of this? As far as I could tell, Carey and Mr. Moseby were just as clueless as Woody. Maybe I really am going out of my mind.

Suddenly feeling hungry, I reached out and grabbed a mouth-watering red apple from a crystal bowl on the coffee table below me. Just as I was about to take a big bite out of it, Cody appeared out of nowhere and caught me completely off guard.

In my shock, I accidentally lost my grip on the apple and watched it as fell. But before it could hit the ground, Cody put out his foot deftly to catch it. The apple landed on the tip of his sneaker, rolled upwards, then bounced comfortably into Cody's outstretched hands. All of this happened in the space of a split second.

"You know, you really shouldn't play with your food," Cody murmured with a teasing smile.

Before I could say anything, Bob suddenly sidled up next to the two of us, closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he had the most alarming expression on his face.

"You brought a snack," he affirmed tantalizingly.

That did it. Based on some irrational fear, I murmured some excuse and literally bolted for the elevators. When I finally reached my suite, I pushed the metal clasp down sharply across the door and exhaled.

What was going on with me? This was getting ridiculous. If I couldn't talk to my own boyfriend, then who else was left? I texted him and asked if I could talk to him in his suite.

It seems that I beat Cody there because when I opened the door to the Martins' suite with his spare key card, no one was home.

I decided I would wait in Zack and Cody's bedroom to give us some privacy. But when I came to sit down on Cody's bed, my posterior somehow missed and I ended up banging my head on the floor.

Rubbing my head, I got to my feet once more and tried to find the source of my mistake. It wasn't hard to guess. I hadn't missed the bed at all. There was no bed on Cody's side of the  
room.

That night I had a fitful sleep, my body tossing weakly against my duvet covers. There was a raging thunderstorm outside and I was awoken each I heard a booming clap or the slightest creaking of a floorboard. My mind kept repeating the various conversations and incidents I'd witnessed, willing me to guess at the truth.

Maybe it's just a phase.

Just a misunderstanding…he found out your secret.

You brought a snack.

Woody, did you cut the cheese again?

After that last disturbing thought, I switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. I came across a news headline stating that a body had been found underneath the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, completely maimed and bloodied.

Squinting through that part, I watched as the paramedics wheeled the stretcher away, the man's feet the only visible part beneath the white sheet covering his body. The one thing I noticed before dozing off was how pale the man's feet were, almost the same shade of Cody's.

I dreamt I was in a secluded wooded area, Cody standing a few feet behind me. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, like something out a novel, or just cleverly CGI'dby Summit Pictures.

"Cody, how old are you?" I asked curiously.

"17." Cody responded promptly.

"And how long have you been 17?" I pressed seriously, my knuckles turning white from clutching them so tightly against my sides.

"A while…give or take 6 months, 2 weeks and 3 days to round it off." Cody added with a toothy grin.

Without warning, the jeans and t-shirt I was wearing turned into a lavish wine-red dress which fit my form down to a tee and ended at my knees. Cody, wearing an old fashioned black tuxedo, came up slowly behind me and wrapped his frigid arms around my waist.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb," he whispered huskily, his cool breath against my ear.

"What a sick masochistic lion, with an incompetent vocal coach," Cody added desperately.

"What a retarded lamb on crack," I agreed while resting my head against his shoulder.

Then without warning, Cody opened his mouth wide, revealing pearly-white razor-sharp teeth. He plunged them into my delicate neck and I gasped at the instant pain. Warm blood seeped out of the wound and I closed my eyes, willing them to shut forever…

That's when I woke up, heart pounding and bathed in sweat. I could hear the faint echo of several violins resonating above me, searing through my brain in a haunting crescendo.

I quickly grabbed my laptop from my nightstand and logged onto the internet. I typed in 'cold one' and waited with bated breath.

What the hell! Where are all the websites I saw in the film? Are you seriously telling me this webpage on the Apotamkin is the only thing they didn't make up? And how the hell did Russell Brand get into this search?

Fuming indignantly, I switched on my lamp and grabbed my copy of Twilight. There had to be answers in this book. After I had paged through it for a good 30 minutes, my hands began trembling.

And that's when the truth hit me like a ton of bricks as the bongos began banging violently overhead, followed by the same haunting chorus of violins. My boyfriend is a vampire and his friends are werewolves…

I didn't get much sleep after that, the cogs in my brain turning all the more furiously all the way till sunrise. I finally gave up and made my way downstairs to the Tipton restaurant for an early breakfast.

The last thing I wanted to do was see Cody. It all finally fit: the strange flu that everyone had supposedly caught, the strange arguments I'd overhead, why Zack's temperature was blazing hot these days and Cody's just below Arctic conditions.

Why I saw a wolf (not a dog as I initially thought) come out of a storage room that I saw London go in. Why I kept hearing the Twilight soundtrack around every corner, unless Mr. Moseby had just purchased yet another Starbucks compilation.

Cody, Bob and Maddie were vampires while Zack, Max and London were werewolves. My friends were all mythical creatures, destined to meet in an epic battle of good vs. evil to protect the human race.

My head was spinning. I needed to tell someone, but who? There's no way Carey and Mr. Moseby would believe me. I had to confront them, but what would I say? What did this mean for mine and Cody's relationship?

The persons in question shuffled through the door an hour later just as I was finishing my toast. I needed to get some fresh air. I got up hurriedly and began walking towards the exit.

Just as I got towards Cody, he stared at me blankly. I returned his stare with a cool nod and stalked past him in slow motion.

If I hadn't been so focused on my staring competition with Cody, I might've seen where I was going before I tripped and collided with Mr. Moseby.

"Oh golly, I'm so sorry, Mr. Moseby!" I apologized profusely while trying to help him up.

"Don't touch me, don't touch me!" Mr. Moseby squeaked and slapped my hands away.

I cursed softly and walked out of the restaurant. I got as far as the lobby and stood near the candy counter, willing myself to calm down. Before I had time to think of my next move, my six freakish friends and Woody entered the lobby, arguing heatedly.

"You take that back right now, Max!" Bob yelled furiously.

"I'm sorry if you can't handle the truth, Bob. You're a leech!" Max shrieked back vehemently.

"That is an extremely derogatory term." Bob replied coldly.

"I can't believe you went back on your word. We had a treaty! Doesn't that mean anything to your kind?" Zack snapped angrily.

"Our kind? If it hadn't been for your ridiculous gambling, we wouldn't be in this mess right now, Zack! Who bets on those kinds of odds?" Cody demanded irately.

"At least, Zack tried to do something. You all sat back and did nothing." London hissed impatiently, coming to Zack's defense.

"We tried to be diplomatic about this, London. But as always, your pack had to overreact." Maddie complained.

"Overreact? That does it, I'm going to tear you limb from limb." Max warned menacingly.

Zack and London joined Max on either side and stood facing Bob, Maddie and Cody, who too had formed a threatening stance.

The fast-paced drum beat and guitar riff of 'Super massive Black Hole' began playing in the midst of the room. Their bodies were hunched over and they glared at each other, each of their mouths curled into menacing snarls.

I knew I was probably as good as dead if I tried to do anything, but I couldn't just stand back and watch them kill themselves, especially with guests around in the middle of the lobby. I jumped in-between them and put my hands up.

"Stop it! Don't do something you'll regret!" I pleaded earnestly, on the verge of tears.

"Bailey's right, we don't need to fight. I say we draw up a line and each group sticks to their own side." Zack suggested calmly.

"Fine by me." Bob replied crisply.

"Guys, this is crazy. You have to work together. I know you're supposed to be mortal enemies, but you have to put that behind you for the greater good. Think of Eclipse." I remonstrated vehemently.

"Mortal enemies?" Maddie asked quizzically.

"What's an ellipse?" London demanded in confusion.

"It's Eclipse, London. And I have no idea what Bailey's talking about either." Zack added in bewilderment.

"Bailey, what's going on?" Cody asked calmly, coming towards me and placing his hands on my shoulders.

"I need to know what you're thinking," he added breathlessly.

"Bailey, I wish you would just say it." Cody stated painstakingly.

"Out loud," he added in a low seductive voice.

"Vampire." I murmured, my eyes dilated with fear.

"Okay, I take it back. You should've kept that one quiet. What?" Cody squeaked in alarm.

"Well you told me to say it out loud. My only other options were Meteor Freak or Leonard Di Caprio." I retorted defensively.

"I'm sorry, Cody, but I thought I just heard your girlfriend call you a vampire." Max stated in bewilderment.

"She did, why would you think I'm a vampire, Bailey?" Cody asked quizzically, with raised eyebrows.

"Not just you. Maddie and Bob too." I added plainly.

"Oh, and I know that Zack, London and Max are werewolves too," I added, much to everyone's further bewilderment.

"Werewolves?" Max asked blankly.

"Vampire, as in Dracula with a black cape and a strange Eastern European accent?" Bob asked bewilderedly.

"No way, I'm much too foxy to be a werewolf." Zack concluded with a seedy grin.

"Ew, are you calling me some kind of mangy mutt?" London demanded shrilly.

"Bailey, why would you think that in a million years?" Maddie asked seriously.

"Well, you see…"

As I began to explain my various theories and the things I'd witnessed over the last few weeks, I began to feel very foolish.

"Why did you get so upset with Zack when you saw us talking together?" I asked of Cody.

"Because, we've all been sick with this weird flu, Bailey, before you came to Boston. Zack got it the worst out of everyone. I wasn't worried about myself because I got vaccinated in time, so my symptoms weren't as bad. But I didn't want you to get sick after that time on the S.S. Tipton when you nearly got pneumonia. Your immune's system a lot weaker than mine. And I know how stubborn Zack can be about proper bed rest." Cody explained succinctly.

"I am pretty stubborn." Zack agreed solemnly.

"But what about your argument with, Maddie, here in the lobby? You were talking about risks and secrets." I countered vehemently.

"I found out that Zack had started an illegal extra-curricular wrestling club at school and was taking bets on their fights. I was worried that since Zack was fighting too, that he might get hurt. As for the secret…my dweeb of a brother, Liam, read my diary and found out that I was in a 'Miss Toucan Sam' beauty pageant for Kellogg's Fruit Loops years ago, and won. And I sort of punched him because he made fun of me." Maddie explained miserably on the last part.

"You punched your brother?" Max asked with a giggle.

"Gasp! You were in a beauty pageant? You said you hated beauty pageants!" London exclaimed indignantly.

"Toucan Sam? Damn, Maddie, your nose must've been really huge to win…I'm sorry." Bob wheezed sheepishly.

"Okay, what about you pulling that bush right out from its roots?" I demanded rapidly.

"It was termite-infested. Bob and I volunteered to check it out for Mr. Moseby. He has to call in an exterminator." Cody explained calmly.

"What about the wolf that popped out of the storage room?"

"It belongs to a friend of mine, she got it in Alaska. I snuck it into the hotel to show Maddie and Woody because they didn't believe that the wolf actually had golden-colored fur. I hid in the storage room in case Moseby came around." London explained.

"I wasn't kidding about that wolf either. It really stank." Maddie put in ruefully.

"But I've been hearing the Twilight soundtrack all over the place. It's like it was a sign." I protested feebly.

"Uh, actually, that was me. I told you I'd gotten better at playing the bongos. You must've heard me playing it one floor above you last night; I was really in the zone. I've got the entire Twilight soundtrack on my cell phone. Man, I love me some Muse." Woody commented enthusiastically.

"Who wants to hear an encore of 'Claire De Lune' on my fart-trumpet?" Woody asked dubiously with a wide grin.

"Hell no!" we all chorused in horror at the same time as well as a few guests.

Woody scowled back at us in obvious disappointment.

"What about Bob saying that I brought a snack?"

"You did have a snack, like the apple in your hand?" Bob pointed out derisively.

"Oh," I blushed.

"Wait, what about catching my apple right before it fell to the ground?" I demanded, turning my attention back to Cody.

"Uh, turns out that playing hackey-sack makes me trip. So I opted for a new trick." Cody replied sheepishly.

"What about your bed?"

"My mom got rid of my old bed. Mr. Tipton asked Moseby to refurbish all the suites on the top floor, something about a better hotel image. Our entire suite was going to get new furniture and a new sky light. My new bed's supposed to arrive today." Cody explained meekly.

"It's true, Bailey. Daddy said all the furniture in the hotel needed to be replaced with all new fabulous pieces." London agreed excitedly.

"What about the near-blood bath I just interrupted?" I asked quizzically. This time, the seven of them all looked sheepish.

"Well, we've all kind've been fighting about the upcoming Celtics game. They're playing the Knicks and we all ended up betting on different outcomes of the game." Zack explained slowly.

"We were all supposed to just bet on one outcome. But I went a little crazy and bet $200 that Rasheed Wallace could score 18 points by the end of the 3rd quarter." Bob added painstakingly.

"Which was incredibly stupid, so I said Bob couldn't be trusted? Then I called him a leech because he ate all my popcorn the last time we went to watch the Celtics play." Max put in slowly.

"Half." Bob corrected nonsensically.

"All of this fighting over a Celtics game?" I asked stupidly. "And you knew about this?" I demanded, rounding on Woody.

"I may have taken a bet or two," Woody offered lamely with a nervous grin.

"I didn't get involved. Yay Me!" London put in with a broad smile.

All of this was beginning to make sense.

"**," I muttered self consciously.

"Uh guys, why don't we give these two a minute? I'm starving." Max suggested pointedly.

The seven of them shuffled back towards the restaurant, leaving me standing awkwardly next to Cody, who was smiling.

"Go on, say it." I urged glumly.

"What?" Cody asked curiously.

"That you're dating the dumbest girl from Hicksville, USA who will believe any crap written in a book." I instructed woefully.

"But I'm not dating that girl. See, I'm dating Bailey Pickett, you might know her. She's sweet, funny and highly imaginative. And did I mention she has the cutest dimples and is breathtakingly beautiful too?" Cody asked pleasantly before enveloping me in his arms.

"It rings a bell," I murmured huskily before kissing him slowly.

"I'm sorry I got so carried away," I added meekly.

"Don't worry about it. Next time you've got a crazy theory, just run it by me okay? Then we can get carried away together." Cody suggested wisely.

"There's one more thing I need to know. Your sudden change in fashion and hair style?" I questioned seriously.

Cody began scratching the back of his head profusely, which meant that he was nervous.

"Actually, I did do that on purpose. You seemed to like that Rob Pattinson guy so much after you saw Twilight on the S.S. Tipton, I decided to model my appearance on him. Lame, huh?" Cody asked with a nervous chuckle.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and stared deeply into his eyes.

"Not in the least. But you know what I like better than fantasizing about some stupid Hollywood actor? Fantasizing about my real boyfriend. Cody Martin, you might know him: sweet, funny, incredibly smart, cute smile, gorgeous head of hair I could just run my hands through, adorable set of beaver teeth." I purred seductively before kissing him slowly.

"Wanna call it even on all accounts?" Cody asked laughingly, pulling me even closer towards him.

"You got it," I whispered before our lips met again.

**No One's Point of View**

After Cody had made sure that Bailey had gotten back into bed and slept for a few more hours; he returned to his own suite and entered the living room.

Zack found him standing there 10 minutes later, just below the new skylight built into the ceiling, gazing upwards pensively.

"Nice view." Zack commented lightly, referring to the skylight.

"It sure is." Cody agreed nonchalantly.

"What a morning. Can you believe Bailey, and her crazy ideas? Thinking we were all characters out of a stupid book?" Zack laughed uproariously.

"Crazy. Too bad she was right about everything." Cody replied woefully, finally turning around to face Zack.

"Hey, come on, lighten up. She's annoyingly smart and shrewd like you. That's why you like her so much." Zack concluded in a cheery tone.

"Still, we should've been more careful. Her overhearing any of our conversations was very reckless." Cody mused ruefully.

"Good thing you put me in charge of lies and alibis." Zack remarked stoically with a satisfied grin.

"We all need to be more careful in future. We can't afford any more distractions, or delays." Cody stated softly.

"Yeah, I know. What happened to Frank Walker was unfortunate," Zack agreed, a forlorn expression appearing on his face, referring to the man who had been found under the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge.

"So it was definitely another vampire who's responsible?" Zack  
asked curiously.

"Incontrovertibly, which is why we need to patrol the city tonight? Whoever's attacking these people is a new-born and very dangerous. That reminds me, you need to keep a closer eye on Maddie." Cody instructed tersely.

"Yeah, good thing you can read minds bro. Otherwise, we might've gotten there too late when she attacked Liam." Zack mused regretfully.

"She's getting though, Cody. She just needs some time. We all do," Zack added seriously.

"I know. Who of you is patrolling the inner city? That way we don't have to cross paths." Cody stated casually.

"London. She's getting ready to go as we speak. Since she's the fastest, she'll cover more ground in less time." Zack responded frankly.

"Good. I think I'll stay by the Tipton and keep an eye on the guests, especially Bailey." Cody suggested.

"You really love her, don't you?" Zack asked curiously.

"She is my life now." Cody answered simply.

"You'll have to tell her everything eventually." Zack advised seriously.

"I know."

"She may be okay with it, you know. In fact, she may even want to join when she realizes how cool the abilities are, regardless of the smell." Zack offered with a smile.

"Thanks Zack." Cody replied graciously, matching his grin.

"Anytime, bro. I'd better get going too. I'm keeping an eye on Maddie's neighborhood."

With one last wink, Zack exited the suite. Cody closed his eyes and sighed loudly. He silently wondered if Bailey would truly understand and accept him.

With a weary expression on his face, he slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Tossing it casually behind him, he stepped forward directly under the skylight.

The cloud overhead was suddenly pierced with sunlight bursting through its shade, all the way through the sky light. The entire living room was now bathed in its glowing light. Cody looked down at his bare torso absent-mindedly, which was now shining brilliantly like diamonds.

London was on the rooftop of the Tipton, gazing down at the traffic below. She slowly began to strip off her richly adorned clothing, until she was completely naked.

Taking a deep breath, she began sprinting towards the edge of the Tipton roof. As she ran, her body began reverberating violently.

Soon, bronze flesh was replaced with golden fur as she leapt through the air and landed with a soft thud on the roof of the next building.

As she continued, she felt strangely liberated and graceful, despite being a werewolf. She was leaving London Tipton, the rich heiress far behind now.

She was certain no one below or above could see her. But even if they could, they'd never believe their own eyes. Bailey certainly didn't.


	5. Boris Yeltsin

A Halloween Party.

By: Boris Yeltsin

The gang arrived in the ballroom where London's Halloween party was.

"Zack, Chairman Yuri Andropov?" Cody asked, dressed as a judge, or at least a zombie one.

"The guy was a spy master. 15 years as head of the KGB, that's a record." Zack told his brother.

"Anyway, Bailey's a biker chick." Cody said.

"Think she can pull that off?"

"No idea." Cody replied.

A little later, Bailey and London showed up.

Bailey was wearing the whole biker outfit, and London was dressed as Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's wife and who'd been the driving force behind the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China.

"Wow, you two look great." Zack said.

"Same too you." London told him.

Later, the party was in full swing.

Mr. Moseby had even shown up as the headless horsemen, and Ms. Tutwiler had even dressed like a vampire.

"So, you want to arm wrestle me?" Zack asked London.

"You're on," she said. "Winner gets 5 dollars."

"Loser has to clean their cabin." Zack said.

London agreed.

"Ready, set, go!" Cody shouted.

It went on for a while. Finally, London won.

"Gotcha. I always keep my side of the cabin clean."

"Darn it." Zack said.

"I guess I have to help keep his room clean." Cody said.

"Cough up the dough." London told Zack.

"We should do this again next Halloween."

"Works for me."

End.


	6. lodylodylody2

The Unmasking

By Lodylodylody

*************

It was Halloween, and onboard the _S.S. Tipton_ the occasion was being celebrated with a grand costume ball.

Sadly, Zack did not have a date for the ball…but he wasn't about to let that get him down. His plan was to find a lovely young woman at the party and hopefully charm her into spending some quality time alone with him that evening.

Of course, the fact that everyone would be wearing a mask of some kind did add some complications to the matter. Zack didn't want to spend the night trying to woo a girl only to have her unmask and discover she was…less than babelicious.

On the other hand, the masks would give Zack a slight advantage with some girls. During his time on the ship, Zack had gained something of a reputation among many of the girls his age. He was viewed by most as somewhat unreliable and afraid of commitment. As such, there were some lovely ladies on the ship who wouldn't consider dating him. But if he could charm such a girl while masked, perhaps his personality would win out over any resistance, even after his identity was revealed.

_This is going to work out great, _he thought confidently.

*************

_This is not working out at all, _Zack concluded ruefully.

The good news was, it was easy to tell how attractive many of the girls were in spite of their masks. The bad news was, every girl Zack approached seemed to recognize him immediately.

_Maybe I should have tried another costume_, he reflected. _But dang it, I make a great Zorro. And I get to carry this sword and whip and all. _

"Hey there handsome," a female voce said from behind him. "Does Zorro have time to protect a helpless harem girl?"

Zack turned to see a curvy blonde girl smiling at him. Her 'harem girl' costume looked like a light blue version of the old_ I Dream of Jeannie_ outfit that Zack had seen in reruns, although tailored to show a lot more cleavage. She also had a blue domino-style mask.

"Well, of course I do," Zack responded with a charming smile. "But as a heroic defender of all that's good and right, perhaps Zorro should liberate you from your harem and lead you off to freedom?"

"You can lead me anywhere," the flirty blonde said as she moved next to Zack and leaned against him. "Especially if it's somewhere we could be alone."

Zack concluded that he'd hit the jackpot. He could tell the girl was attractive…and also not one of his shipboard classmates. Obviously she was just a passenger who was looking for a good time. And from the way she was coming on so strong…well, Zack was glad he had some protection in his pocket. There was a good chance he'd have a nice Halloween treat before the night was over.

"Follow me, gorgeous," he said as he offered the blonde his arm.

*************

Not only had the girl not objected to returning with Zack to his cabin, she all but attacked him once they were inside. She was nothing if not enthusiastic, and she managed to strip Zack down to his boxers before he'd even realized it.

As he started to remove her top, she gave him a big wet kiss. But when they both paused to take a breath, she said something that made him freeze.

"Oh…Zack," she moaned in a breathy voice.

"Wait, you know my name?" He looked at her closely. He was sure she wasn't a classmate. "Who are you?"

When he reached up and removed her mask, she made no effort to resist. Unfortunately he still didn't recognize her, even as she smiled knowingly at him.

"Am I pretty enough for you?" she asked. "Tell the truth."

Well, yeah," he answered. "You're a babe, no question. But who are you? How do you know my name?"

She reached into a hidden pocket in her costume and pulled out a pair of glasses. When she put them on there was something familiar about her face…but still Zack couldn't place her.

Seeing his confusion, the girl laughed as she pushed him back onto the bed, and then all but leapt on top of him.

"Don't worry that you don't recognize me. The important thing is that you like what you see. And I've always liked you." She smiled devilishly and kissed him again. As she started to remove his boxers, Zack's eyes went wide upon hearing her next words.

"Yeah…Agnes likes."

*************

The End.

_**author's note: **__Ever seen the resume pictures on IMDB for the actress who played Agnes? I think Zack might like her if he saw her looking like that. Please review._


	7. Kulmanari

Trick or Scream!

By: Kulmanari

Cody sighed in frustration as the tip of his pencil broke, the piece of sharpened lead rocketing off to the side of the table where it went over the edge and plunged to its doom as the vacuum cleaner passed by. He was having a hard time concentrating on his homework and the fact that his mother had picked this very moment to do some house cleaning didn't help matters any. It was Halloween night and while everyone else his age was out partying or trying to get in one last year of going door to door trick or treating, he stayed at home. Maybe it was the fact that people dressed up in costumes depicting scary or evil manmade creations that was bothering him. After all, Cody had fought more real Demons than he cared to count just a scant month and a half ago.

Laying his forehead down on the open page of his textbook, Cody admitted defeated and closed his eyes in an attempt to make his headache go away. All day he had been feeling weird and this led to him blowing off Zack's invite to go out one last time to try and score as much candy as possible. With a groan he sat up straight, the open page briefly sticking to his head, and massaged his temples.

Carey Martin has disappeared somewhere into the suite and thankfully she was done vacuuming which came as a relief to Cody's headache. His ears were still ringing from the loud noise of the machine though. He needed to go out for a walk and get some fresh air. Maybe he'd even run into his twin and see if Zack could make Cody change his mind about tonight.

"I'm going out for a walk." Cody called to his mother as he pushed himself away from the dinner table, stood up and pulled his lightweight jacket off the back of the chair he had just vacated to go along with his navy blue jeans and black long sleeve shirt. It was supposed to be a bit chilly tonight.

"Ok, have fun honey!" Carey replied from the bathroom where was wiping down the marble counter. Without further ado Cody left and walked down the hallway to the elevator.

On the ride down, Cody started humming the soft tune of the elevator music having heard it for years. As he neared the ground floor Cody felt his power suddenly swell all on its own accord and had to briefly wrestle with it in order to maintain control over it. The power of the light, which was hiding just out of reach when he wasn't actively channeling it, had never done that before except for the very first time he used it. Ever since then he'd had to pull it into his body in order to tap into its energy.

"Weird…" Cody muttered, holding his right arm in front of him and seeing the fine hairs on said arm standing up due to the static electricity that the light energy was creating. The elevator dinged as it arrived at the lobby and he took a couple of steps out of it before he stopped dead in his tracks as his mind finally processed what he saw.

The normally busy and well staffed lobby was currently empty, devoid of Tipton employee's, guests checking in and people making complaints which were usually about the twin's antics. He felt a chill run down his spine as he looked around. Where was everyone? What was going on?

Cody slowly wandered around the lobby looking behind the check in counter as if Mr. Moseby might be hiding behind it waiting to jump out and surprise him, but he found no one there. Looking outside at street running in front of the main entrance he saw that it too was devoid of anyone. Feeling a sense of growing apprehension Cody walked over to the revolving glass door and went outside, the cool air was refreshing to him after having been cooped up in the hotel for the past couple of hours.

Just off to his right he was met by the scene of a bad car wreck, several cars had crashed. There was something wrong though… Despite all of the damage, the shattered glass lying in the street and the occasional splash of bright red blood here and there, there was no one around. No police or paramedics and no curious onlookers. More disturbing yet was the fact that, upon closer observation, there were no bodies in the wrecked cars.

"What the hell?" Cody whispered as he drew closer to the totaled vehicles, glad to have his power surging through his body. A scraping sound behind him made him turn around quickly. Standing a short distance away was a man in a tattered black business suit with bloodstains on the white shirt he wore under the jacket. He was slightly hunched over and stumbling towards Cody. Had this man been in one of the cars? He sure looked like it…

"Do you need help sir?" Cody asked as he took a few tentative steps towards the stranger, his left hand reaching into a jeans pocket for his cell phone to call for help on. The injured man didn't respond, he just kept shuffling forward. That was when Cody noticed a really nasty wound on the man's leg, it almost looked like he had been bitten by an animal…

Terror flashed through Cody for a brief instant as the man suddenly lunged towards him, making incoherent gurgling sounds as he stretched out his arms and tried to grab Cody. Instinctively he powered up even more, causing his aura of golden light to appear, sending a wave of energy rippling outward which threw the man off him just before he touched him. The injured man fell down onto his back, but immediately started to get up and come back towards Cody.

"Look man, just sit down while I call for some help." Cody said as pulled out his phone and flipped it open. Immediately after that the man rushed at him again and Cody had to drop his phone in order to grab a hold of him and attempt to restrain him. Infused with light energy, Cody's physical strength was increased ten-fold and he easily grabbed the man's arms and held him back. Cody got a good look at his eyes, seeing that they were glazed over and bloodshot and now that he was this close, he could smell the stench of death and decay.

As the man made several attempts to bite him, Cody made up his mind that this guy was a zombie. There was no other explanation… He immediately took a step back and hurled the creature into one of the wrecked cars. It hit with such a force that it dented the otherwise intact drivers' side door on a silver sedan and crumpled to the ground. The zombie refused to stay down though and started crawling towards him. Cody drew his right arm out to his side and summoned Excalibur into his hand. He really hoped that he was right about this man being a flesh eating zombie…

"Stay." Cody commanded as he decapitated the zombie, the tip of his sword sending up a shower of sparks as it bit into the pavement underneath the abomination. The zombie finally lay still and Cody looked up at his surroundings, unable to shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Then all at once, dozens of zombies poured into the street from all sides converging on him. Cody gasped in surprise even as he readied Excalibur for battle by shifting into a high guard stance. What the hell was happening? Where did all of these things come from?

Cody met the first zombie with a downward slash, cleaving it in half. He sidestepped another zombie as he recovered and sent his sword into its back as it passed. Very quickly Cody realized that no matter how good he was, he couldn't defend himself on all sides against their sheer numbers. He fell into a dance as he shifted stances and lashed out against the transformed humans, trying to come up with a plan of action. As they pressed in on all sides, threatening to overwhelm him Cody powered up to his maximum strength knowing that he had no other choice.

"I'm done playing with you all," Cody shouted, feeling a cool gel-like substance spread across his skin replacing his clothing. The gel gave off a brilliant golden glow as it hardened into his suit of lightweight plate armor that protected him from neck to toe. Now with his magical weapon in hand, suit of armor covering his body and the power of the light surging through his body Cody went of the offensive.

Excalibur flashed in wide arcs, clearing out a short radius around him which gave him enough room to pull light into his left hand and launch devastating lances of golden energy into the masses of zombies, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. Cody cleared a path back to the Tipton using Excalibur's deadly thirty six inch long edge and shaped energy attacks in short order.

He backed into the lobby doors, continuing to blast the zombies as they rushed at him and shattered the door behind him with the hilt of his sword. Stepping through the destroyed door, he launched several more lances of light into three zombies that were jumping in after him knocking them right out of the air before he turned and ran to the elevator. It was still on the ground floor thankfully and he started frantically tapping the button for the twenty third floor, willing the doors to close faster.

One of the zombies managed to get to the elevator before the doors shut completely and reached in trying to grab him. Cody slammed his gauntlet encased left fist into its head and the zombie dropped like and unstrung puppet, leaving a gory mess covering his armor. The doors finally shut and the annoyingly cheerful music started playing from the speakers, oblivious to what was going on in the world.

A moment later Cody exited the elevator and ran down the deserted hallway to his suite, determined to get his mother and escape. Once they were away from this place, he could go looking for his brother. He hoped that his twin was ok, wherever he was.

As Cody flung open the door to the suite, he was met by the scene of his mother lying on the floor, a bite mark on her neck. NO! The zombies had already gotten to her! Just as he took all of this in, the zombie responsible for infecting his mother rushed towards him and knocked him down. It looked really familiar…

"Oh god… No Zack! NO!" Cody cried as his zombie brother fell on top of him, grappling with Cody and succeeding in pushing his arms to the floor at his sides. He saw a hungry gleam in Zack's glazed over eye seconds before he opened his mouth revealing bloodstained teeth. Time slowed down as Zack's head dropped, his mouth aiming for Cody's neck.

Pain exploded through Cody as he felt Zack's teeth pierce his flesh and bite down on his jugular vein. A stream of warm blood escaped the wound and flowed down his neck, pooling on the floor beneath him. This wasn't happening, Cody's mind cried as he started to black out from the pain. He felt his body relax as it started to shut down. Cody knew that after he died, he would awaken as one of the living dead…

"NO!!!" Cody yelled in horror. He suddenly jerked upward in a sitting position, the page of his open textbook peeling off of the side of his face as he did so. Cody looked around dumbly, seeing that he was sitting at the dining room table with his homework in front of him. His mother came hurrying over to him from the kitchen even as he reached up and touched his neck where Zack had bitten him, feeling no wound and seeing his fingertips come away dry. It had all been a bad dream…

"Cody honey, are you ok?" Carey asked with concern coming over and wrapping him up in her arms. When he gave her a simple affirmative she said, "You looked so cute and tired after you passed out, I didn't want to wake you up."

After assuring his mother that he was fine and that he'd just had a bad dream, Cody collected his jacket off the back of his chair and went down to the lobby. He just had to be sure…

"Not again…" Cody groaned as he saw an empty lobby.

"Not again what?" the familiar voice of his twin asked as Zack appeared off to one side of the lobby. Cody playfully punched him in the arm, happy to see his brother alive and well.

"Ow, what was that for?" Zack asked, surprised by Cody's actions.

"You bit me!" Cody accused the grin on his face a telltale sign that he was only playing around.

"What?" His twin asked in confusion. Cody quickly told Zack about the short nightmare that he'd had and while Zack throught it was kind of creepy, he also thought that it was pretty cool too. He was a little upset that he had been turned into a zombie though, telling Cody that he should have been the hero who saved the day and got all of the girls.

"So where is everyone anyway?" Cody wondered, indicating the empty lobby.

"Looking at the car wreck outside. Let's go check it out." Zack replied simply. Cody felt a chill run down his spine.

It had all been a dream right?

Right?

Happy Halloween!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: So yeah… I couldn't figure out what to write for Halloween, but Hurricane gave me the tie in idea so I figured I could do something similar with my Chaos Demons AU. It's cheesy horror mixed with Resident Evil and my own creations the Children of Light, but I like it heehee!

Hope you enjoyed, please review =)


	8. lodylodylody3

The Witching Hour

By Lodylodylody

*************

Maddie Fitzpatrick usually loved Halloween. Unfortunately, this year she had too many other things on her mind to properly enjoy the holiday.

This year, Maddie had assumed she'd be celebrating the occasion at a college party. Instead she was back at the Tipton, working at the candy counter once more. Her brilliant college career had come to an abrupt end before it could even start. A week before she was set to leave, her father had been in a horrible car accident. Though his injuries were serious, his prognosis was for a complete recovery. But no such recovery would be possible for the family's financial health. Between the medical bills, the legal bills (another man involved in the accident had filed a lawsuit) and the general chaos of the last couple of months, the money for Maddie's tuition had vanished. Her scholarships and her financial aid for hardship just wasn't enough to pay for the school of her choice…or any of the schools on her list of alternatives.

So, Maddie was taking the few classes she could afford at a junior college in the city while continuing to work at the hotel. At least she had friends there. London, Zack and Cody were off at sea along with Mr. Moseby, but Esteban was still around. In fact, he'd been a great help to her since her academic dreams had been shattered. As the new hotel manager (technically the assistant manager, but with full authority while Moseby was working on the ship) he'd given Maddie a very flexible schedule for her work shifts. She could pretty much name her own hours.

Tonight though, she'd arrived earlier than she was scheduled. She didn't really have anywhere else to be. Outside of the hotel, she no longer had a life.

"Maddie? Is that you?"

The question came from Millicent, another candy counter worker at the hotel. The high strung, nervous girl was staring at Maddie in surprise.

"Who else would it be?" She forced a smile as she answered Millicent. "Don't worry, I'm not here to kick you off the counter. I just thought I'd hang out before my shift started."

"Um…yeah," the younger girl replied. "But no, I was looking at your hair."

"Oh, duh." Maddie felt like smacking her own forehead. She gave her co-worker a more genuine, somewhat sheepish smile while running a hand through her long, formerly blonde locks. "I had to bite the bullet and dye it dark. One more bleaching and it would have been fried beyond repair. This is pretty close to my natural color anyway…so I expect I'll be a brunette for a while now."

"It looks great," Millicent enthused. "You're lucky. You look good no matter what."

"Thanks. You're sweet," Maddie responded.

The two girls engaged in small talk for a bit before being joined by Lance, the hotel's lifeguard. After complimenting Maddie's new look, he asked the girls if they'd seen Esteban.

"I found this weird package by the side entrance," Lance explained. "And I think it's for him."

"You think?" Maddie asked.

"Well, it's addressed to a guy with a really long name…that begins with an 'E'…the handwriting is really bad."

Maddie took a look at the package. It was wrapped in dirty brown paper and was about the size of a shoebox. The handwriting on it was just as sloppy as Lance had noted, but Maddie could make out that it was Esteban's name.

"I wonder where it's from?" she mused aloud. "There's no postage or return address. Someone must've just left it at the side door."

"It seems pretty mysterious," Millicent commented and then frowned. "I don't like mysteries. They're scary."

"What's scary?" Esteban asked as he approached the group. Since Millicent's back was to him, she screamed and jumped. Maddie just rolled her eyes at how easily startled the girl was.

"Nothing's scary," Maddie explained. "We were just talking about this package we found. It's for you."

She presented the parcel to him, but Esteban didn't take it at first, he was too busy staring at Maddie.

"Your hair," he said.

"Yeah, I dyed it," she explained, feeling somewhat embarrassed by Esteban's scrutiny. He'd never looked at her quite like that before. "You like it?"

"You are beautiful," he said, without hesitation. Maddie felt herself blushing. She'd known Esteban for years, he was almost like an older brother to her. But this moment with him was…different.

Alas, it was also a moment that ended abruptly. For when Esteban looked down at the writing on the package, his expression became concerned.

"Where did this come from?" he asked as he took the package. He frowned as he listened to the group's explanation. His eyes stayed focused on the writing.

"Is something wrong?" Maddie asked.

Esteban pointed to the writing. He had seen instantly what the others had not. The barely legible scrawl was more than just Esteban's full name. It was followed by some words Maddie didn't recognize.

"These are forbidden words," the man said in a grim tone. "It is the language of the evil ones. Those who practice the dark arts." He paused for effect. "Witches."

Millicent gave out a squeak of fear. Lance tilted his head slightly and said, "Whoa." Maddie looked incredulous.

"You don't really believe that?" she asked Esteban.

"In my country, we do not joke of these matters." He studied the package carefully. "I do not like this. Who would send me such a thing?"

"You could, you know, open it," Lance suggested in his usual, laid back tone.

Slowly and carefully, Esteban removed the outer wrapping to reveal a very ordinary shoebox. Inside the box was a small piece of wood that appeared to have been cut from a thick branch. On one end of it was a black symbol.

"It is a curse!" he exclaimed. "This is a disaster!"

"Oh no," Millicent wailed as she began wringing her hands. She looked as if she were going to faint.

Maddie tried to get her friends to calm down, while Lance merely stood by with a confused look on his face (as he often did.) Eventually the commotion attracted Arwin.

"What's going on?" the eccentric handyman asked.

Maddie filled him in while Esteban and Millicent continued to look worried.

"Oh, this sounds serious," Arwin said.

"Don't tell me you believe in black magic too?" Maddie said. "I thought you were devoted to science."

"Huh?" Lance spoke up. "I thought he was devoted to Carey."

Arwin sighed. "No, I'm afraid Carey and I are not meant to be. She seems so happy with that new boyfriend of hers." A hint of annoyance crept into his tone. "Which is totally unfair. I've been trying to win her over for years, then this guy Nick just waltzes in out of nowhere."

"I think he's a nice guy," Millicent put in.

"He seems that way," Arwin replied. "But I don't trust him. He's too pale."

"Let's get back on topic people," Maddie said forcefully. "I'm trying to tell you there's no such thing as magic." She pointed at the small object that had been inside the box. "This is just an ordinary piece of wood."

"Actually, I can show you if there is anything strange about that wood," Arwin said. "Follow me."

The entire group (including Millicent, who was due for a break from her post) proceeded down to Arwin's basement workshop. On the way, the handyman explained about his new invention, which was designed to pick up traces of paranormal energy.

"So we'll just scan that bit of wood and we'll see if it's got any scary mojo floating around it," he concluded.

"Seriously?" Maddie asked in a sarcastic tone. "Is this a real invention or did you just watch _Ghostbusters_ one too many times?"

"The technology shown in that film is fundamentally sound," Arwin answered defensively.

"It is not good to joke about these things Maddie," Esteban said in a worried tone.

Seeing that he was upset, Maddie's demeanor softened. "I'm not trying to make light of your country's traditions. But you have to realize there isn't any actual curse. It's just superstition."

But at that moment, Arwin pointed his 'paranormal scanner' at the piece of wood…and the device lit up like a Christmas tree.

_Well, that's not helping anything_, Maddie thought.

*************

According to Arwin, the small bit of wood was surrounded by intense 'ectoplasmic' energy. Maddie was skeptical of this, doubting even the veracity of the term. The others were quite convinced though.

Arwin also said that his scanner could detect a trail of such energy that was connecting the wood to something else…something nearby. He led the others out of the basement and back to the lobby, looking at the scanner the whole time.

"Oh, it over there," he said as he pointed toward the door. "Right across the street."

"In the St. Mark?" Esteban asked.

"That makes sense," Arwin commented. "If there's a witch involved, I can think of a likely candidate."

"Yeah, that Ilsa woman," Lance chimed in.

"She's scary," Millicent added.

Maddie groaned. It seemed that everyone but her believed in witchcraft. And yes, the manager of the rival hotel across the street was intimidating, but that hardly meant she had supernatural powers.

But an expression of resolve appeared on Esteban's face. "I must go over there and get to the bottom of this."

"What?" Maddie turned to face him. "What are you going to do? Walk over there and ask Ilsa if she's put a curse on you? That's ridiculous."

Esteban gave her a serious look. "I know you do not believe in curses. But whoever sent this was trying to intimidate me. And if this is an effort from someone at the St. Mark to try and hurt our hotel, then it is my responsibility to put a stop to it."

Maddie had been ready to argue further about the lunacy of believing in black magic, but instead she just smiled warmly at Esteban. In spite of his beliefs, he was determined to defend the Tipton. She couldn't help but admire his bravery. Since he'd been promoted, Esteban's personality had become more mature. In the past, Maddie had thought of him as sweet and thoughtful, but somewhat passive. But now he seemed almost…forceful.

It was sort of hot.

_Yow!_ she thought. _Where did that come from?_

Putting the surprising feelings aside, Maddie looked into her friend's eyes. "If you're going over there, I'm going with you. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this. And you'll see that this is nothing more than some sort of prank."

"I hope you are right," he replied. Then he looked to Arwin. "Will you come too? Maybe your scanner will pick up more once we are in the St. Mark."

"Oh, I'd like to," he responded. "But I'm already late for D and D."

Maddie looked at the handyman and raised an eyebrow. "You play _Dungeons & Dragons_?"

Arwin's face lit up. "Aw, I wish! That would be so cool, but I don't know anyone else who plays. No, when I said D and D, I was talking about these great guys I chat with online. We all post to the same inventor's message board. Well, we used to. The three of us got kicked off. None of the other people there could understand our ideas. "

Lance spoke up. "And you call them D and D?"

"Yeah, because their names both start with D," he explained. "Drakken and Doofenshmirtz. It's too bad my name doesn't start with D…because then we could be 3-D." He laughed at his own joke before going on. "Anyway, I really shouldn't keep them waiting. They're both sort of temperamental."

"Can you show us how to use your scanner at least?" Esteban asked.

"Sure, it's easy."

After explaining the device, Arwin went back downstairs to keep his online appointment. Maddie and Esteban made ready to go across the street.

"Should we come?" Lance asked, causing Millicent to look fearful.

"No, you two should stay here," Esteban answered. "Skippy will not be in for a few hours yet and Irene called in sick. You both should watch the front desk while I am across the street."

"What? You mean. We're in charge?" Millicent asked nervously. "I don't know if I can handle that."

Maddie and Esteban looked at their two co-workers and then each other. The idea of turning over responsibility to either of them was somewhat problematic. Millicent had a tendency to fold under even the slightest pressure. And Lance was a nice guy, but not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Still, the same could be said of the hotel's night manager, Skippy. And it wasn't like Esteban and Maddie planned to be gone long.

"I am sure you will be fine," Esteban said. "Lance, you have worked here the longest, so you will be in charge."

"Whoa…cool," the lifeguard said.

"And Millicent, your job will be to assist Lance," Esteban continued. "You are to help anyone that comes to the front desk, while Lance supervises. That way you don't have to worry about being in charge. Lance will be responsible for everything."

"Oh…okay," the nervous girl said. "That'll work."

*************

As they exited through the front door, Maddie glanced over to Esteban.

"That was pretty smart," she said. "The way you handled Millicent."

"She is more capable than she knows," he replied. "She just doesn't think so."

"You're a really good boss. You know that?"

"Mr. Moseby set a good example." Esteban smiled. "He may have been a taskmaster at times, but he always went out of his way to help us whenever we had any problems."

"Yeah, he did," Maddie agreed. "And you've really helped me a lot lately. Letting me work as many hours as I want. I appreciate that."

The two stopped in front of the St. Mark and Esteban turned to Maddie. "I wish I could do more," he told her. "I know how hard it has been for you. To postpone your college plans after you had been so eager to go." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But you will go, I know this. You are the smartest and most dedicated person I know. You have great things in your future."

Maddie was touched by her friend's sincerity. "That's really nice of you to say."

"It is the truth," Esteban said as he gazed at her. Despite the fact that there was a decade of difference in their ages, he had always thought of his wise-beyond-her-years friend as a peer. But as he looked at her now, there was a new element at play…an element that Esteban was not comfortable with at all.

Maddie was not a girl anymore. She was a very beautiful young woman. It bothered him that he was suddenly so aware of this. Her new hair color wasn't helping matters in the least. If anything Maddie was more striking as a brunette than she was as a blonde.

After a long moment of silence, both of them started to feel awkward.

"Let's look in the St. Mark," Maddie finally said.

"Yes, let us do that."

*************

The manager of the St. Mark, Ilsa Shickelgrubermeiger-Von Helsinger Kepelugerhoffer (also known as the Teutonic Terror) cast a disdainful look at Esteban and Maddie as they entered her hotel.

"Vell, vell," she said in her ridiculously thick German accent. "The circus must be in town. Vhy else vould I have two clowns in my lobby?"

Neither responded to the woman, as both were surprised at how Arwin's scanner started acting up as she approached them.

"Vhat is vith the beeping?" Ilsa asked as she looked at the device.

Esteban's eyes widened. "You! It is you! You are a witch!"

"A vhat?" she asked.

"A witch!" he repeated.

"A vitch?"

"No, a witch!"

"That's vhat I said. A vitch."

"Aha!" Esteban declared. "You admit it!"

"I admit nothing! I am not a vitch!"

Maddie, who was getting dizzy listening to Esteban and Ilsa's competing accents, shouted at both of them. "Enough already!"

After her outburst had silenced them, Maddie explained the situation to Ilsa.

"So you think that a vitch sent you some sort of magic curse," Ilsa said. "Und you are using this device…built by your janitor…to track the vitch down. Und it led you to me?"

"Exactly," Esteban declared.

"Ah." Ilsa paused for a moment. "You are both insane people!"

Maddie tried to put forth a voice of reason. "Look, I don't believe in witchcraft. But this device is reacting to you." She held the scanner up. "Actually, it's reacting to all sorts of things here. It might be a good idea to find out why that is."

To Maddie's surprise, Ilsa didn't dismiss the idea. The woman seemed to consider things for a moment and then nodded.

"This had better not be some sort of trick, or you vill answer to me," Ilsa warned. "But ve should see vhy your little machine is acting up so."

"Then you will let us look around your hotel?" Esteban asked.

"Only if I go vith you," she answered. "I'm not letting you run around my hotel unsupervised."

Ilsa called for a staff member to take over her post at the front desk. Then she joined Maddie and Esteban as they began to search through the building.

Arwin's scanner led the trio down into the St. Mark's basement...and to a dead end.

"There's nothing here," Maddie observed.

"But the scanner is going crazy," Esteban pointed out. "Especially by this part of the wall."

"I suppose there is some secret passage," Ilsa laughed sarcastically. She slapped the wall with her hand, only to jump back when a hidden door opened in response.

"Vell…how about that?" she said in a surprised-sounding tone.

Maddie and Esteban stayed very close to each other as they cautiously entered the secret passage. Ilsa followed right behind them. After a few feet, suddenly there was a loud noise and then the darkness was illuminated by wall-mounted torches that seemed to flame up out of nowhere. The light revealed a large room with a dark shadowy pit in the middle of the floor.

Arwin's scanner started to smoke, spark, and then exploded.

"What is this place?" Maddie asked.

"It's a little place I like to practice my hobby," Ilsa said in a sinister voice.

Maddie and Esteban turned to see her smiling at them evilly. She was no longer acting surprised or cautious at all.

"You are a witch!" Esteban accused.

"As they say here in America…duh!" Ilsa laughed. "I had you fooled there for a bit, didn't I? But now that you are here, I can drop the act."

Esteban protectively placed himself in front of Maddie, but the young woman was still trying to make sense of the situation.

"You can't be a witch," she said to Ilsa. "There's no such thing."

"You still say that even after your little machine vent all kaput?" Ilsa asked.

"I'll admit, something weird is going on here," Maddie countered. "But there has to be a logical explanation."

"Let me enlighten you," Ilsa responded. "I did send the cursed charm to Esteban vhen I found out about his background. Once I knew he was descended from royalty, I knew I could gain the kind of power that most vitches only dream of."

The woman proceeded to explain that the purpose of her little 'gift' had been to bring Esteban to her.

"But it wasn't the charm that brought us here," Esteban argued. "It was Arwin's scanner."

"That vas reacting to the charm," Ilsa shot back. "I never know exactly how the spells I cast vill go…I just know the result. Und here you are."

"This is crazy," Maddie insisted. "We're leaving."

"No." Ilsa's voice was now almost playfully cruel. "You are not."

Suddenly chains flew through the air and wrapped around Esteban and Maddie's arms and legs. The shocked duo were dragged back against the wall on the far side of the pit.

"Impressed?" Ilsa asked. "You should be…because I sure am. You see, I haven't been a vitch that long. But boy, am I making progress."

The Teutonic Terror was very pleased with herself as she explained how she'd only recently discovered that black magic was real when she'd been looking through some old books that had been passed down through her family line. From these books she's learned how to gain power by making sacrifices to dark beings.

"Forget about all the Earth-Mother, inner goddess, viccan clap trap," she said with a laugh. "I come from a family of old-school, demon worshipping vitches. Und there's one particular demon I know of that loves the blood of royalty."

Esteban struggled against his bonds but to no avail. "If you want me, fine!" he shouted. "But let Maddie go!"

"Like I vould do that," Ilsa scoffed. "Besides, she may not be royalty, but hungry demons never turn down a pretty young thing like her."

"This can't be real," Maddie cried. But the enchanted chains holding her in place told her she was wrong.

"Oh, it's very real," Ilsa laughed. "Und in just a little vhile, I vill summon forth the demon from the pit…and you two vill be his evening meal."

*************

Back at the Tipton, Skippy had arrived and taken over the front desk, but Millicent and Lance remained at the candy counter. Both were concerned that Esteban and Maddie had not returned, especially since it was past time for Maddie's shift to start.

"Maybe we should go over there," Lance suggested.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" the ever fearful Millicent asked.

Lance shrugged. "I'm not really much of an idea guy. But if they're in trouble and we don't at least try and help…I'd feel bad."

"Yeah," Millicent concluded. "You're right."

And so, the two headed across the street. When they reached the front desk of the St. Mark, a tall and imposing man was stationed there. When they tried to explain that they were looking for their friends and co-workers, he was anything but helpful.

"I sincerely doubt there are any Tipton employees running around our hotel," he growled. "Now why don't you go away and stop bothering me?"

"Uh…look," Lance said. "This isn't some sort of joke. Personally, I don't care about the whole Tipton/St. Mark rivalry thing. I'm just worried about my friends."

The man remained unimpressed. "I told you to get lost."

But Lance and Millicent (much to her credit) didn't budge.

*************

In her secret basement lair, Ilsa chanted some mystical words. Some ominous rumblings start to emanate from the pit.

Esteban looked over to Maddie. "I am so sorry. Maddie, I should have never let you come with me."

"No," she replied. "This isn't your fault."

"But it is not fair," he went on. "I am the one Ilsa wanted to trap. I cannot bear the knowledge that you are going to…" He trailed off, unable to speak the words. "You should not be here."

The noises from the pit became louder…and more bizarre. Whatever was making them was not of this Earth.

Maddie swallowed hard. "Esteban. If we're going to die here…I want you to know. You mean so much to me. More than I can say."

His eyes locked with hers. "You are the closest friend I have. I…I love you Maddie."

Hearing those words sent a jolt of emotion through the young woman that was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. "I love you too."

"Oh, enough vith the lovey-dovey garbage," Ilsa said as she stopped her chanting. "Seriously, you two sound like a bad soap opera."

Maddie glared daggers at the witch. "We really don't care what you think! You monster!"

"I am not the monster," she replied. "I'm the vitch."

At that moment, two large, sickly-green, tentacles emerged from the pit. Ilsa pointed towards them and laughed. "Now there's the monster."

Maddie looked in horror at the unbelievable sight before her. At the same time, Ilsa moved over next to Esteban, intending to feed him to the demon first. She held up her hands in front of his face, said a few words, and magically put him into a trance. Then she started to remove his chains.

"No!" Maddie screamed. "Snap out of it Esteban!"

He didn't respond, even when Ilsa started leading him towards the pit. Maddie noticed that Ilsa kept her eyes focused on the man. Perhaps if she were distracted, her spell would weaken.

"Hey Ilsa! Yeah I'm talking to you! Turn around and look at me!"

Ilsa ignored her. Maddie tried to think of something that could draw the woman's attention.

"Look the police are here!" Maddie yelled. "We're rescued!"

Still, Ilsa ignored her.

_Damn it,_ Maddie thought. _What would distract an evil German witch? Wait a second…that's it! She's German!_

"Oh my gosh!" Maddie yelled. "What the heck is David Hasselhoff doing here?

A surprised Ilsa turned around. "The Knight Rider? He's here?"

Maddie's ploy worked. With Ilsa's concentration broken, Esteban came out of his trance.

"Quick! Run!" Maddie yelled to her friend.

" Stop!" Ilsa cried out as she turned and tried to renew her spell. But before she could, Esteban grabbed her arms. The two began to struggle, while the tentacles waved furiously in the air besides them.

Maddie pulled once more at her chains and felt them start to loosen. Apparently the magic that had animated them in the first place was weakening, possibly due to Ilsa's continued struggle with Esteban. Maddie finally freed herself and then turned to aid her friend. But she saw at this point that both Esteban and Ilsa were dangerously close to the edge of the pit…and the tentacles were reaching for them.

"No!" the young woman screamed as she ran towards them. She grabbed onto Esteban and yanked him backwards a split second before a descending tentacle would have wrapped around him. Instead, it grabbed Ilsa.

"Nein! Nein!" The witch's voice was filled with fear. She reached out toward Madde and Esteban.

In spite of what she had tried to do to them, the two grabbed her hands and tried to pull her free. But the demon tentacles were far too strong and simply snatched her from their grasp. Ilsa was lifted high over the pit.

"I don't vant to die!" she whimpered. Unfortunately there was nothing anyone could do to save her. She looked down into the pit and saw the rest of the hellish monster she'd called forth. She knew exactly how it devoured its prey, but she'd never imagined she'd become one of its victims. Realizing her helplessness, Ilsa didn't even try to struggle as the beast slowly pulled her down into the pit. She could only sob piteously as she went to her fate. The look of hopeless resignation on her face was so disturbing that Maddie had to look away. The young woman buried her face against Esteban's chest.

Once the demon began feeding…Ilsa's cries of pain went on for an unbearably long time.

*************

At the front desk of the St. Mark, Lance was still getting nowhere with the stern man at the desk.

"I'm telling you for the last time," the unhelpful fellow warned. "Get out of here or I'll have you thrown out!"

Then the unexpected happened. Millicent snapped.

"No! I'm telling you something!" she yelled as she reached up and grabbed the man's lapels. "We are not going anywhere until we find our friends! And if you don't help us I'm going to take your name tag and shove it so far up your rear end that people will be able to read it whenever you open your mouth! You understand me?!"

"Whoa," said Lance, shocked by his co-worker's uncharacteristic outburst.

Equally shocked were Esteban and Maddie, who had just made their way up to the lobby from the basement.

"Millicent," Esteban called out. "We are here." He paused and took a breath, still feeling queasy from the ordeal he and Maddie had just gone through. "And we would very much like to leave now."

Seeing how pale and shaken they looked, Lance and Millicent let Maddie and Esteban lean on them as they all walked outside.

"So what happened?" Lance asked.

"We do not want to talk about it," Esteban answered. "But we will have no more trouble with curses or witchcraft now."

"Thanks for coming to look for us," Maddie added. "We appreciate it." She looked to Millicent. "And you…with that guy at the desk…wow!"

"Yeah," Lance put in. "That was totally cool. You weren't going to take no for an answer."

Millicent blushed. "That was sort of…exciting," she admitted.

"You should be that way more often," Esteban advised. "Be brave. You have just shown you can do it."

"I guess I did." The shy girl smiled and then turned to Lance. She hesitated a moment but then got a determined look on her face. "Okay, I want you to walk me home. And this weekend, I want you take me to the movies."

"You mean…like a date?" the lifeguard asked.

Millicent started to look unsure of herself again. "Um…yeah."

Slowly, a smile formed on Lance's face. "Cool. Can I pick the movie?"

Millicent giggled and nodded, and then the two headed off.

Maddie and Esteban went back to the Tipton and retreated to the manager's office.

"Are you sure you are alright?" he asked Maddie in a concerned voice.

"As alright as I can be. I still don't believe what I saw."

"Yes," Esteban replied. "Who could have imagined that Millicent would ask out Lance?"

Maddie's jaw dropped and then she started laughing. Esteban's joke had come at exactly the right moment. It helped her deal with the insanity of what they'd both gone through. Once she'd regained her composure, she stood up and walked over to Esteban.

"I'm just glad we're still alive," she said. After a moment's hesitation, she put her arms around him.

Seeing the look in her eyes, Esteban tried to push her away. "We cannot."

"Yes," she replied. "We can."

"But Maddie...you are...I am too old for you."

"I'm a grown woman," she countered. "A grown woman that was almost eaten by a monster tonight. After that, I'm really not scared of a little age difference." She paused. "Besides…you already told me you loved me."

Esteban made no further attempt to break their embrace. "That is true," he said. "I do."

And that Halloween, Maddie and Esteban kissed each other for the first time.

**********

The End.

_**author's notes: **__I have lots to say about this story. First, it occurred to me that my last two entries in the Halloween collection could well take place in the same 'reality'. So I thought I'd have this one fit in as well. So while Carey is up in her suite getting over her nightmare (with the help of her new vampire boyfriend)...Zack is out at sea happily being molested by Agnes...and Esteban and Maddie are dealing with the aftermath of watching Ilsa being eaten by a demon. That's quite a Halloween, no? _

_Esteban and Maddie as a couple? I've always been somewhat mixed about that. The age issues bother me a bit…but their personalities really appeal to me. I thought I'd get them together here and see how it played out. Plus, I've wanted to do more with Maddie in a story for some time. And Esteban has a lot of great story potential, but I haven't used him much since __Being Herself__. _

_Arwin's online friends? I think they're actually nice guys as far as mad scientists go. They're very likable for villains. _

_I quite like Caroline Rhea…but somebody had to die horribly in the story. Hence Ilsa's demise. :)_

_Oh, and Maddie dyed her hair because I do think Ashley Tisdale looks utterly fantastic as a brunette. _

_Anyway, I've been turning out these Halloween stories at a pretty fast clip, trying to beat the deadline. I hope the quality isn't suffering too much due to the speed. Please review. _


	9. DarkElements10

**Black Aggie**

"Okay Mister. Martin, one more time please. Start from the beginning."

Cody looked to his friend sitting next to him. They both looked horrible; bruised, bloodied, dirty and terrified.

No one believed their story.

Cody was sitting on the cold, hard metal chair, one leg propped up with his arm wrapped around it, shaking as he once again began the story…

**---**

When Felix Agnus put up the life-sized shrouded bronze statue of a grieving angel, seated on a pedestal, in the Angus family plot in the Boston Cemetery, he had no idea what he had started. The statue was a rather eerie figure by day, frozen in a moment of grief and terrible pain. At night, the figure was almost unbelievably creepy; the shroud over its head obscuring the face until you were up close to it. There was a living air about the grieving angel, as if its arms could really reach out and grab you if you weren't careful.

It didn't take long for rumors to sweep through the town and surrounding countryside. They said that the statue - nicknamed Black Aggie - was haunted by the spirit of a mistreated wife who lay beneath her feet. The statue's eyes would glow red at the stroke of midnight, and any living person who returned the statues gaze would instantly be struck blind. Any pregnant woman who passed through her shadow would miscarry. If you sat on her lap at night, the statue would come to life and crush you to death in her dark embrace. They also said that spirits of the dead would rise from their graves on dark nights to gather around the statue at night and if anyone should happen to cross them the evil angel would awaken and pull you down into the fiery pits of hell.

But this was just a local legend, as far as Cody Martin was concerned, he didn't believe in ghosts and demons and monsters under the bed and especially not haunted statues. Cody believed in hard, solid proof, and so far there had been nothing that even suggested that the statue was indeed haunted, only the stories and rumors.

There had been no weird deaths or blindness maybe once a woman that had walked past had miscarried, but really did that prove that Black Aggie was real?

Not as far as Cody and many other skeptics were concerned. But there was one thing for sure, even if he swore that he didn't believe it in the least, Cody would not walk through that cemetery alone.

The date was October 13 on a Friday. October was a particularly cautious month for the town maybe because it was the month Halloween or maybe it was because the nights came sooner and became cooler. But whatever the reason in October Black Aggie was exceptionally popular.

Though no one would go near the statue for fear of their lives, she was wildly spoken about and became the target of numerous dares and pranks.

Too add to this, it was Friday the 13, and unlucky day and for the already superstitious town it was unspeakable for anyone to go out late at night, let alone go anywhere near the cemetery.

But that's what Zack had done.

Leaving Cody and their friend Tapeworm to go into the cemetery to find him.

Before he got himself hurt

…or worse.

Zack and Cody are twin brothers and always looked out for each other, which is why Cody felt that he had to go after his older brother. Though the two brothers were close, they couldn't be more different. Cody was quiet and rarely got himself in any trouble whatsoever. Zack was loud and active all the time, and was always in trouble for one thing or another.

The night had started out like any other night, the family came home and had supper then they all went and did their own thing.

Cody was in his room reading a book when Zack had come in; he wanted to ask his twin something.

Cody asked him what he wanted and he replied telling him that he had heard some of the guys in school talking about "Black Aggie". Zack knew it was some sort of local ghost story and wanted to know more and he knew that his brother would know about it, as Cody is the studious one.

"Well basically Black Aggie is just a statue placed over in the cemetery and it's supposedly haunted by this woman who had died a long time ago after her husband abused her." Cody replied. "They say that at midnight her eyes will glow red and if anyone meets those eyes they'll go blind. Or if a pregnant woman should pass through her shadow then the baby will miscarry. They also say that spirits of the dead will rise from their graves on dark nights to gather around the statue and if anyone should happen to cross them the evil angel would awaken and pull you down into the fiery pits of hell." Cody finished with a mock evil laugh and then his face instantly changed back to one of no emotion. "Not that any of it's actually true or anything." he added quickly to dispel all thoughts that _he_ would believe in that stupid ghost story.

Because he _so_ didn't… well maybe a teensy tiny bit, but that was all!

Zack stood still for a moment then said with mischief gleaming in his eyes, "So why don't we go?"

Cody frowned as he had learned quickly to spot _that_ particular look… and avoid it. "Why? You're not going Zack, it's too dangerous. And not because of that stupid legend either. There's no groundskeeper anymore, he died years ago and no one wants the job anymore. There's roots and grass everywhere. You'll fall down and brake you're neck." He said warningly.

"Then I'll bring a flash light." Zack replied with a shrug. His mind was already set.

"You're not going. Anyway shouldn't you be doing your homework?" Cody asked trying to change the subject. Zack was easily swayed from one stupid stunt to another.

"Yes mom" Zack said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes before he walked out of the room.

Cody had thought that, that was the end of it that night.

Boy was he wrong.

**---**

It was almost twelve o'clock when Tapeworm knocked on her door asking if he had seen Zack.

"No, not for a while why?" Cody asked.

Tapeworm shrugged, "I don't know…it's weird it feels like something's wrong and I can't find him. We were supposed to be playing basketball together"

"Did you check at school?" Cody asked worry starting to grow in his stomach thinking back to the conversation they had earlier.

Tapeworm looked at him and judged his worried look, "You know something" he guessed.

Cody bit his lip, "Yeah maybe, earlier he asked me to tell him about this local legend, about Black Aggie. And he thought it would be a good idea to go. I told him not to, I didn't think he actually would."

Tapeworm nodded, "He defiantly went there, leave it to Zack. Where are the flashlights?" he asked running a hand over his face.

"Why?"

"So we can go find him."

Cody closed his eyes for a minute, as much as he really didn't want to go into the cemetery he knew that if they didn't then something bad could happen to Zack. "Closet" He said opening his eyes and standing.

Though he didn't believe in the legend –or didn't want to- Cody couldn't help the growing ache of fear that clawed at his stomach. What he had told Zack about the dangerous, abandoned cemetery wasn't a lie, there was more than one way to get yourself seriously hurt or killed in that place. None of which included a haunted statue.

---

"Zack!" Tapeworm called shining his flashlight through the tall grass searching for his friend.

"Zaaaaaack!" Cody called doing the same.

Neither received an answer so Tapeworm looked at Cody, "Where is this statue again?"

Cody pointed further into the center of the cemetery where the tall statue was placed. Walking swiftly over to the statue the two continued to search for their friend.

After about thirty minutes of searching they stopped for thinking and breathing hard from screaming so loud, "Maybe he never actually left and he was just trying to scare us or something?" Cody suggested hopefully.

"I don't know…maybe." Tapeworm said absently looking over his shoulder, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Cody asked looking behind him where there was nothing, except for the old statue of Black Aggie.

"Nothing, never mind." Tapeworm said brushing it off and turning back around. "I don't know what to do. Maybe go back home and if he's not there then we can call the cops or something." He said the feeling that he was being watched trickling down his spine, then he turned around again shining his flashlight around the area, "Hello?! Someone there?!" he called.

"What?" Cody asked again.

"You don't hear that?" Tapeworm asked turning to her.

"Hear what?" Cody asked, and then he heard it too; a swishing sound, like someone dragging their feet through long grass and a soft, woman's voice humming a strange tune.

"Hey is someone there?!" Tapeworm called again his voice becoming slightly irritated, but there was also a slight nervous edge to it.

"Zack?! Is that you!?" Cody called knowing it couldn't really be him.

Unless of course he was a woman…

Again an eerie humming reached them.

"Okay whoever this is it isn't funny!" Tapeworm called. This time the nervous edge was greater.

"Maybe we should go home." Cody suggested his voice quivering with fear.

"Yeah maybe"

Panic froze the blood in her veins when Cody felt a hand grab his shoulder. He screamed pulling away and ran into Tapeworm. Tapeworm jumped but then gave an annoyed look over his shoulder, "So not cool, man." He said tersely helping his brother stand on her own carefully.

Cody looked cautiously over his shoulder and saw Zack's silhouette surrounded in shadows. But before he managed to let himself breathe in relief he realized something was _very_ wrong with this picture.

"Zack?" Tapeworm had noticed it too.

He wasn't moving. He just stood there enveloped in shadows his hand still stretched out where he had grabbed Cody's shoulder.

Slowly, cautiously, Cody turned and stepped forward, "Zack?" he all but whispered reaching up to touch his hand softly.

It felt like he was touching ice, "Jesus" Tapeworm cursed in horror and she looked up. Zack's eyes were closed and burned horribly, blood ran down his cheeks.

Cody stepped back into Tapeworm her eyes wide with fear, "Holly Shit! Zack!" he said tears coursing down her face.

Zack moaned and stepped forward and when he did they could see the large gaping hole in his chest.

"oh god, ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod" Cody whispered in a choked, horror and terror filled voice as he looked at his twin. He tried to back up but Tapeworm wasn't moving.

"No, oh fuck no! Zack!" Tapeworm was gasping out.

"…Tape-worm…" Zack gasped out painfully. "Co…dy… hel-"

**---**

The two officers looked at each other then back at the two step siblings in disbelief. "Do you mean to tell me that this statue burned your brother's eyes out and stabbed him in the chest?" one asked.

Tapeworm shook his head, "No. we know that's not what happened. We're not finished." His voice was cold and hallow… dead.

**---**

"Zack!" Cody and Tapeworm screamed at the same time when the younger boy collapsed.

Tapeworm reached passed Cody to catch his friend. "Come on Zack. Wake up. Come on you stupid little punk don't you dare be dead." He said shaking his brother.

He was so absorbed in his friend that he didn't hear the humming again. He didn't hear the squeak that came from the younger blonde twin. He didn't see the woman holding the knife. All he felt was a sharp pain in his head as she hit him with the hilt.

Distantly he could hear Cody scream but he had already succumbed to the darkness.

**---=**

"Tapeworm…Tapeworm… oh Tapeworm wake up. Please wake up. Oh god please don't be dead." A voice was pleading.

He recognized that voice, he knew the soft pale face that peered down at him streaked with tears dirt and blood.

"Cody" he whispered hoarsely.

He sobbed quietly and draped his body over his hugging him the best he could, "Oh thank god. I thought she had killed you. There was so much blood"

He was confused and reached up touch his shoulder, to tell him it was okay… he must have had a nightmare, he thought. But then he saw the blood on his hands and the memories came flooding back at him.

"What happened? Why did I pass out?" he demanded sitting up quickly.

Bad idea.

His head spun and ached horribly. "Ow" he groaned.

"You shouldn't move." Cody said sniffing pushing him back down. Swallowing he explained to him what had happened.

_Cody stood there watching his friends, feeling a pain in her heart. Zack was dead. He already knew that but he didn't want to believe that. But more than anything he felt that nagging since of guilt. _

_He never should have told him about that stupid ghost story. He should have made sure that he wouldn't have left. _

_He looked away; unable to bear the sight any longer, and then he saw her. The old woman with thin, frail gray hair that stood up on all ends, the cold, dead red eyes and that horribly gaunt and terrible face that grinned at her and Cody knew what the grin meant. _

_Cody saw the knife and she tried to call out a warning to his friend but all that came out was a squeak. _

_He watched the knife come down. He watched his friend crumple. And then he looked up and saw that face right before his and the knife came down hilt first over his head and the darkness swallowed her whole. _

Tapeworm shuddered, but sat up. "Who is she?" he asked.

Cody shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up here."

And here was surely hell.

**---**

"Hello my little ducklings." A cold harsh voice said.

Cody felt tears sting at his eyes and he refused to turn to look at the old woman. Fear had frozen him. But he could still see Tapeworm's face. He was scared. But he was angry to. He realized something that Cody had not.

"You." Was all he said but both Cody and the woman knew what he was talking about before he added "You. It was you that killed my friend" it wasn't a question. He knew.

The woman laughed manically "yes" she said simply and Tapeworm let out a roar of rage, pushing past his friend he lifted his fist and let fly to the woman's face. But she was surprisingly fast for an older woman and stepped out of the way.

It was then that Cody noticed the red-hot poker in her hands. This time his feet moved and she managed to jump in front of Tapeworm before the woman could strike him. He felt an unbearable pain her arm and screamed out.

The woman laughed but it was short lived because Tapeworm wrenched the poker from her hands and pushed Cody out of the way this time when his fist flew it hit its mark.

Coldly the woman raised her other hand and grasped in it was a gun.

Both teens froze and looked at it. Deftly Tapeworm stood in front of his shorter, smaller, innocent boy. Cody placed a hand on his arm and stood beside him calmly, he would not let him die for him. He would die by his side. He took Tapeworm's hand with his injured one and they stood facing the old woman no fear or regret on their faces. Their shaking hands told another story though.

The woman watched all of this in shock. Not pain. Not fear. Shock. "Would you really die for her?" she asked Tapeworm quietly.

"Yes" he answered tightly, honestly.

"And you" she looked at Cody, "He let you take pain for him, yet you still stand by his side at death?" she smiled sadly. "Would you die for him as well?"

"Yes" Cody replied.

The woman nodded and lifted the gun to her own head and pulled the trigger.

**---**

"Hey chief! We got a body!" A uniformed officer called.

"The boy right?" the chief asked.

The uniform shook his head. "A woman. Old woman. Looks like she shot herself. We got a positive id on the body of that woman. Get this, her name was Angel Wilson. Everyone called her Aggie."

**---**

Such lurid tales brought many listeners and the Agnus grave site began to be trampled by teenagers and curiosity-seekers. Although Boston was fairly remote at the time, the site was visited, and vandalized, by hundreds or perhaps thousands of people over several months. In addition to the statue's arm being stolen, hundreds of names and messages were scrawled on the statue, the granite base and the wall behind it. Today, these have been blasted away, although some evidence of the damage sadly remains.

Cemetery groundskeepers did everything they could to discourage visitors, including planting thorny shrubs around it, but they failed to keep people away. There is no indication as to why the cemetery was not better patrolled at night, but perhaps they just couldn't afford it. For every trespasser arrested, dozens of others managed to reach the site. A fence surrounds the grave of the Agnus family today, but back then, the cemetery was wide open, especially at night.

Eventually, the number of nighttime visitors and the destruction they caused became too much for the cemetery to handle. In March, the Agnus family donated Aggie to the Smithsonian Institution for display. It was later moved.

The statue can still be seen today at the Federal Courts building in Washington, in the rear courtyard of the Dolly Madison house.

Cody Martin and Tapeworm Michaels lived long lives and were bound by a force stronger then blood. Even when they both married and had their own children and grandchildren they still remained closer then close.

**A/N: I'm sorry that I had to kill off Zack, but it fit the story and I wanted a good Halloween one that showed friendship, so here you go. Hope you enjoyed it! ^-^**

**-DarkElements10**


	10. Snapplelinz 2

Be Careful of what You Wish For

By: Snapplelinz

This had to officially be the worst Halloween ever. Cody entered the Martin's suite at the Tipton and let the door slam shut with a resounding bang. A confused Carey and bemused Zack (who had just entered the suite after Cody) stared at Cody's appearance. His hair was dishevelled while his favourite sweater vest and cargo pants were splattered with mud.

"Rough day, honey?" Carey asked sympathetically.

"You could say that." Zack smirked.

"A rough day would've just stopped at Zack using all of my low yield bond savings for Tipton arcade tokens. But no, my Chemistry teacher gave me an A-minus on our latest pop quiz. Bailey hasn't replied to any of my emails. Then a cab stopped right in front of the hotel and sprayed mud all over me. This is officially the worst Halloween ever." Cody snapped angrily.

"Well, I hope it's about to get better. You're making duck for dinner, remember?" Carey asked quickly.

"That's another thing, I'm sick of making dinner every night when I'm exhausted from school in the afternoons. I'm tired, I'm gonna go take a nap."

And with that, Cody stalked into his and Zack's room and shut the door.

Cody collapsed onto his bed in his mud-sodden clothes, his mind whirring. Everything seemed to be going wrong lately. Cody felt the worst about how things were going with Bailey. Things hadn't gone according to plan aboard the S.S. Tipton during the Seven Seas High sea school programme. Needless to say, his '6-month plan' to get Bailey to date him hadn't panned out. Right before his and Zack's departure back to Boston, Cody had told Bailey in so many words about his feelings for her. Bailey in turn said that she needed time to think and had promised Cody that she'd email him. But there hadn't been any word from her yet, not a one. And it that had been weeks ago. Cody had tried to get a response out of her in an array of emails, but to no avail. Cody was tired of everyone taking advantage of him. If only things could be different. That's when he dozed off.

When Cody woke up later, it was nearly 7pm. He hopped off his bed and changed out of his dirty clothes into a pair of jeans, a polo shirt and his favourite sneakers. After brushing his teeth and washing his hands, he exited his and Zack's room to find Carey busy cleaning the kitchen counter.

"Hey, you're finally awake. Did you have a good nap?" Carey asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, it was okay. Listen mom, about what I said earlier–"

"It's alright Cody-"

"No, Mom, it's not. I was way out of line. I've just got a lot on my mind. I shouldn't have taken it out on you and Zack. I'm sorry." Cody answered meekly.

"Cody, it's okay. I understand that you're going through a lot of stuff right now. Your brother and I could've been a bit more sensitive." Carey responded sincerely.

"Sometimes I just wish that things could be different, simpler in my life." Cody stated wistfully.

"Be careful what you wish for, Cody. You might just get it." Carey warned in that paternal tone of hers.

"Where's Zack?" Cody asked curiously while glancing around the living room.

"You just missed him. He said he was going trick-or-treating with Bob. You can probably still catch him." Carey advised quickly.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm just gonna take a walk downstairs. Be back in a few."

Cody exited the suite and took the lift downstairs to the lobby. There were a few adults present and a couple of kids dressed in costume trick-or-treating. Mr. Moseby was tending to a few guests at the check-in-counter and kept throwing a few subtle expressions of revulsion in the direction of the kids. Smirking to himself, Cody took the lift back up to the 23rd floor. He decided to swing by London's suite and see if she was in. After knocking a few times, Cody remembered that London had said she'd be out for the evening. Something about having a ruby polished. While taking a detour back towards his own suite, he passed one of the hotel room doors and stopped dead in his tracks.

He got the strangest tingling sensation in his bones. That made him think about the dream he'd had earlier. Where the dream began and reality ended, Cody wasn't sure; he'd had a sense of dejavu in his dream. The setting had been 2 years prior. Muriel had been babysitting him and Zack in their suite while Carey was doing a show downstairs. As usual, Muriel had fallen asleep the instant she stepped into the living room. But right before Carey had gotten home, Muriel had awoken for a few minutes and told Cody a strange tale while he was watching TV. She told him that besides not liking to clean up after other people, she was adamant that since she begun working at the Tipton, she had never once cleaned up in room 2366.

"Why not?" Cody asked curiously, turning the volume down on the TV.

"Some say that a young girl used to live in that suite, long before Mr. Moseby became the manager at the Tipton. She died under very unusual circumstances. She was rumoured to be gifted with special powers, like some kind of sorceress." Muriel explained casually.

"What kind of powers?" Cody asked eagerly.

"People say she had the power to grant a person any wish they desired." Muriel answered cryptically.

"Any wish? But Muriel, that's impossible. No one has that kind of power. There's no such as magic." Cody retorted scathingly.

"You laugh now, kid. But soon you'll understand."

And just like that, Muriel had fallen asleep without any further explanation. Cody had never told anyone about this conversation he'd had with Muriel, mostly because he hadn't believed it himself at the time. But as he stood outside Room 2366, his hands began trembling violently. He ached to open the door, but his feet just wouldn't move. He could hear what sounded like a low humming and the thudding of a faint heart beat. Right when he decided to leave, the door opened slowly and silently.

Cody was met with the strangest sight before him. The room was decorated just like every other suite on the floor. But the entire living room was bathed in a strangely glowing blue light. And all the furniture was rotating on the spot. What made the picture even stranger was a lone figure standing amongst it all. As far as Cody could tell, she was a young girl, possibly in her late teens, bathed in the same blue light filling the entire room. She was so breathtakingly beautiful that Cody was finding it hard to breathe at that precise moment. She was unlike any other girl he'd ever laid eyes on. For a few seconds, Cody could barely remember the existence of any other girl in the world, let alone Bailey. She was humming softly to herself.

"This door isn't supposed to be open." Cody stated stupidly. Just then, the door slammed shut, as if a gust of wind had just flown through the room.

"The room is always open to those who seek it out," the young girl replied softly.

"Seek it out for what?" Cody asked dumbly.

"Only the seeker knows what they want," the young girl responded slowly.

"Now that you're here, what is it that you wish?" she asked seriously.

"My wish? Then it's true, you do grant wishes." Cody stated slowly.

"Any wish that you like," the young girl answered simply.

"What's the catch?" Cody asked suspiciously.

"There's no catch. My only goal is to grant one wish to those brave enough to seek me out. I can see that you are weary. Let me ease your troubled mind," she stated soothingly.

Cody couldn't imagine that anyone before him had ever said no to this vision of loveliness. And he was weary.

"One wish?" he asked slowly.

"Any wish you like," she replied.

"I want the girl I'm in love with to love me back. I want my brother to actually pay back the money he loaned from me in the first place. And I want my mom to actually do some cooking for a change. So basically, that all falls under the heading of not wanting everyone to take advantage of me." Cody said breathlessly.

The young girl nodded once before answering.

"Very well, your wish is granted."

The door opened swiftly of its own accord. Once again, Cody found himself outside Room 2366 in the empty hallway. The lights were slightly dimmer than they were a few minutes ago. Feeling a sudden urge to go downstairs, he ran towards the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby. As the elevator doors opened with a resounding ding, Cody was shocked to find that the lobby was completely empty. Not a single person stirred anywhere; not even Norman the Doorman was in his usual spot by the revolving doors. Amidst the elegant furniture and brightly lit chandeliers, there was a strange tension in the air. It was as if the very air was being squeezed and captured in a vacuum, creating a noiseless siren. What was going on? Where was everyone?

Cody whipped around and she was suddenly there, the girl he'd been thinking about for months. She was wearing a simple white dress and pumps. She looked beautiful as always. But something was terribly wrong. She wasn't the same vivacious girl he was used to. This was a very different girl indeed: desperate and frail.

"Bailey? B-b-ut, how? What are you doing here?" Cody asked blankly.

"I came to see you, Cody. I came to tell you that I love you," Bailey replied by way of introduction as she stepped towards him.

Cody had to fight the urge to take a step back from her.

"How did you get here? Where is everyone?" Cody asked wildly, glancing around the room again for any sign of life.

"That's not important. No one else matters but the two of us. I need you to know exactly how I feel."

And with that, Bailey wrapped her arms around Cody's neck and kissed him. Cody had always hoped his first kiss with Bailey would be sweet, tender and blissful. This kiss was none of those things. It was passionate, certainly, but desperate and pleading. Cody felt as if he were being suffocated by Bailey's firm grasp on his arm, as if he could drown at any moment. When he finally pulled away, he was even more disturbed by the look in her eyes. They were forlorn and hollow.

"Bailey, what's going on?" Cody asked anxiously.

"Please, Cody, I love you. I want us to be together, I need you." Bailey murmured breathlessly.

"Bailey, I have to go find my Mom. Just stay here for a moment," Cody advised quickly.

"No, Cody, wait! Don't go, you can't leave me!" Bailey pleaded painstakingly.

Cody was suddenly struck by the red smudge marks on Bailey's fingers as they reached for him. His eyes widened in horror as he gazed down at her arms. They were stained with red, several lacerations gouged into her forearms.

"Bailey, who did this to you?" Cody asked in blank horror.

"I was just so lonely, Cody. I can't live without you. Please don't leave me." Bailey pleaded earnestly.

Cody backed away from her and began sprinting towards the elevator. The doors shut with a clang as he frantically tried to press the number '23'. He had to get help; something was terribly wrong with Bailey. But where was everyone? He had to find Carey and fast. She seemed to be the only one left in the hotel.

Cody was wrong on that last account when the elevators opened onto the 23rd floor and he collided headlong with Zack. Zack seemed highly excitable, his entire body tingling with giddy fervour.

"Zack, when did you get back from trick-or-treating? Listen to me, we have to go get Mom. Bailey's here and there's something wrong with her-" Cody spluttered before Zack cut in.

"That's not important, Cody. I have great news: I got your money back." Zack announced gleefully.

"What money?" Cody demanded impatiently.

"Your low yield bond savings, stupid. Look, I felt really bad about spending it all on arcade tokens. So I found a way to pay you back. Here," Zack offered, handing Cody a hefty object.

Cody examined the object with confusion. It was a ruby the size of a baseball. It belonged to London; how did Zack get it?

"Zack, this is London's ruby. How did you get this?" Cody demanded apprehensively.

"I took it from her. First she wouldn't get with the programme, but I found a way to convince her…"

Cody zoned out and stared at Zack. His brother was talking animatedly like always when he was in the midst of telling a story. But something was wrong. He was literally shaking from head to toe and his eyes kept darting around, like he was looking for something. That's when Cody noticed that Zack's white T-shirt was smudged with streaks of red. It looked like blood. Then he saw the knife clutched tightly in Zack's fist.

"Zack, what have you done?" Cody asked in alarm.

"Like I said, she didn't want to give it to me at first. But I took care of it," Zack answered, nonplussed.

That's when Cody looked past Zack and saw what looked like two bejewelled shoes sticking out past the wall leading towards London's suite. Cody sprinted forward and rounded the corner. He nearly stumbled right over London, sprawled out before him. She was dressed quite fashionably, like she'd just been to a tasteful and luxurious social gathering. She laid spreadeagled across the carpet, exposing her bloodied torso. Instead of her usual lofty demeanour and wide smile, the corners of her mouth were stretched wide in a silent scream.

"Oh my God," Cody muttered hoarsely, backing away from both London and Zack.

"I had to do it, Cody. I couldn't let you down again. I had to give back what I owed. Mom always says: never a borrower, nor a lender be," Zack murmured painstakingly, coming towards Cody with the blade still in hand.

Cody turned away and sprinted towards his suite. Something very disturbing was happening right under his nose. First Bailey, now Zack. Cody couldn't shake the image of London's maimed body from his mind as he swiped his card key frantically at the door. Cody had to get help somehow. He needed his mother now more than ever. Cody found Carey with her back to him, busy at the kitchen sink.

"Mom, thank God! You have to help me, something really terrible is happening to everyone! First I ran into Bailey downstairs and she's got these marks on her arms like she's been cutting herself. Then Zack shows up in the hallway covered in blood and carrying London's ruby, saying he owes me for my low yield bond. And then I find London just outside her suite, covered in blood. Mom, I think Zack killed her. I don't know what's going on, you have to help me." Cody pleaded frantically, the tears running profusely down his face.

"Mom, are you even listening to me?"

His panic changed to rage when he realised that Carey hadn't even turned around once since he'd come in. Cursing aloud, he walked rapidly towards her and yanked her arm to make her face him. Carey's eyes were glazed over and her hands were saturated with blood. Cody gasped at the knife in her hand and the bloodied vegetables on the cutting board behind her.

"Mom, what the-" Cody breathed in horror.

"I worked so ** cutting up the vegetables. I can't stop now, I have to make you a special dinner." Carey droned on in a dull tone, the hollowness of her eyes becoming more pronounced.

Cody screamed and started sprinting away from Carey and headed for the door. He was starting to piece the eerie events of the night together as his mind went back to that strange encounter in Room 2633. He had made a wish and it came true. But at what twisted cost?

Once again, the hallway outside Room 2633 was empty. Cody shuddered at the fact that Zack and London were now both missing from the 23rd floor. But he pushed those morbid thoughts aside as he focused on the scene ahead of him. The room was just as it had been nearly 20 minutes ago. The same blue light was glowing ominously against the walls. But the furniture previously rotating on the spot were now swirling around the room in a continuous rotation. Cody found the young girl standing exactly where he left her before. Her beauty was even more terrifying, now that Cody knew the truth.

"You tricked me!" Cody spat furiously.

"I didn't trick you. I gave you what you wanted," the young girl responded coldly, the whites of her eyes gleaming amidst the blue light.

"I don't want this, any of it! Change it back!" Cody ordered savagely.

"It's not in my power to change what you have wished for," the young girl answered morosely.

"There has to be a way. Please, I'll do anything," Cody pleaded, the tears running down his face once more.

"Only the seeker can change the outcome of their wish. But in order to do this, the seeker must be genuinely content to revert back to the way things were before they entered this room. This penance can only be achieved with contentment of spirit and remorse." The young girl responded calmly.

Cody didn't have to think twice about it.

"Okay, I'll do it. I want things to go back to the way they were, no matter how bad the circumstances were. I want my family and friends back, just the way they are." Cody pleaded earnestly.

The young girl bowed her head as the furniture continued twirling haphazardly around her.

"Very well," she murmured reluctantly.

Just as the door opened, Cody was blown back viciously into the hallway once more by some unknown force. He hit the back wall with a loud bang and crumbled onto the floor. While watching the door of Room 2366 slowly swing back into place, Cody's vision became blurry and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Cody found himself being roused back to consciousness by an insistent tugging on his arm and slapping on his chest. He turned his hazy eyes onto Bailey, who was kneeling over him, her eyes filled with concern and worry. Cody did a double-take: Bailey was here, in Boston? He checked her attire apprehensively. She was wearing blue jeans with her favourite golden boots and a long-sleeved emerald-green blouse. That seemed normal enough. But that still didn't explain what she was doing here.

"Bailey?" Cody asked in surprise, forcing his eyes to focus.

"Cody, oh my God, are you okay? I found you unconscious outside this room. What happened to you?" Bailey demanded anxiously while checking Cody's forehead.

"I, uh–" Cody began as he tried to get up.

They were outside Room 2366. The hallway lights were back on, making the corridor less ominous. But the door was definitely shut this time. What had just happened?

"I was uh, looking for Zack, he went trick-or-treating earlier. I was running back to my suite. I must've hit my head and knocked myself unconscious. I definitely remember tripping." Cody explained lamely with a nervous chuckle.

"Bailey, what are you doing here?" Cody asked pointedly when he'd finally risen successfully to his feet without her help.

Bailey stuck her thumbs into the loops of her jeans as she looked downwards for a split second.

"I came to see you, to apologise for not replying to your emails." Bailey began nervously, finally looking Cody in the eye.

"Well, then you're a few weeks late on that apology." Cody replied coldly.

"Cody, I'm really sorry, you have to believe me. I never wanted to leave things the way I did back on the boat. It's just that you kinda caught me off guard. I needed time to think about what you told me, about your feelings." Bailey replied earnestly, coming to stand closer to Cody.

"You could've just replied to my emails. You didn't have to visit me in person just to twist the knife, Bailey." Cody spat angrily.

"That's not what I came to do. I came to tell you that I'm sorry for giving you mixed signals. I know my timing sucks and Halloween's really not the best night to make this kind of declaration, but I do have feelings for you, Cody. I'm sorry it took me this long to figure it out." Bailey stated sincerely.

"What kind of feelings?" Cody asked suspiciously.

Bailey finally closed the distance between the two of them and pressed her lips gently against his.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked quietly while caressing his cheek.

"Pretty much." Cody replied gleefully, smiling genuinely for the first time all day.

"Come on, your mom's waiting for us. She's trying to cook a special dinner. Zack and London should be back soon. Then we can talk afterwards." Bailey announced and held out her arm.

Just as Cody linked his arm with Bailey's, she winced ever so slightly.

"What's wrong?" Cody asked in concern.

"Nothing, it's just that I had a little accident yesterday. I cut my arm while I was helping my mom chop up carrots." Bailey explained with a shrug.

Before asking for Bailey's permission, Cody gently slid the sleeve of her blouse upwards, exposing the skin. There was a semi-healed laceration on Bailey's forearm, bruised around the edges and still slightly enflamed.

"Hey, it was just a little bit of blood. You worry too much." Bailey remarked with a teasing grin.

Cody returned her grin and took her hand instead. As they walked towards the Martin's suite, Cody couldn't stop himself from peering back at Room 2366. The door was still shut, but he could make out the traces of a faint blue light creeping out from underneath, shining onto the hallway carpet. Gripping Bailey close to him, Cody turned away swiftly and tried to ignore the soft humming.

THE END.


	11. SilverTurtle

**It's All About the Costumes________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

By: SilverTurtle

They were going to win that costume contest. There were no two ways about it. With three weeks to prepare, their costumes would be perfect…if they could decide what those costumes would be.

"London, I am not dressing as Gabrielle!" Maddie raised her voice to be heard in the unusually loud lobby of the Tipton Hotel.

London pouted, "Why not, Maddie? She's the smart one, you're the smart one. It's perfect!"

Maddie shot London a blistering look and hissed, "She's also the short one _and_ the skimpily dressed one. You're short, you be Gabrielle. I want to be Xena! At least Xena carries weapons."

"But Xena is a brunette, I'm a brunette." London flipped her hair over her shoulder, "It makes the most sense this way."

"I am not dressing as Gabrielle, and that is final. There is no way I'm wearing a mini-skirt and halter top in October. No chance."

London tried once more, she really wanted to see Maddie in that outfit, "But Maddie-"

"No, London. We'll just have to think of something else." The matter was closed as Maddie turned away to help a customer at the candy counter. London pouted some more and left the lobby.

Cody, having heard the whole thing, sat down to think.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The elevator doors opened to disgorge London and Maddie into the lobby, dressed in uniform and on their way to school.

Cody listened to their conversation as they passed him by.

"Okay," London started, "what about Wonder Woman? She's strong and heroic, a paragon of girl-power."

Maddie nodded, liking that idea, "Then who would I be?"

London looked at her and said in her very best 'duh' voice, "You'd be Wonder Woman."

Confused, Maddie asked, "Then who would you be?"

"Hawk-girl?" London didn't really like the idea of being Hawk-girl. Her costume was ugly, the wings would be heavy, and she didn't want to have to carry that weapon around all night. She wanted a costume that would show her off to her best advantage, she really wanted Maddie to notice her.

"Mmm," Maddie was shaking her head, "no. Wings would be bulky and hard to make. Besides, you remember that episode of Justice League we watched where she totally betrayed the Earth? You don't want to be her."

London had totally forgotten that episode. She remembered it vaguely, she'd spent that afternoon staring at Maddie's legs, wishing she could slide those knee socks off and run her hands over smooth skin. She shook herself out of the fantasy and back into the conversation, "Well, I could always be Princess Audrey to your Wonder Woman." She'd always thought there was more to that relationship than appeared on screen, they'd totally pinged her gaydar.

Maddie laughed, "I don't think that would work. She's too obscure a character. Everyone would think you were trying to be a long haired Marilyn Monroe."

As they passed out of the lobby and into the chilly streets of Boston, Cody once more sat back to think.

Maddie and London moved quickly from the streets into the Tipton lobby, shaking water from their hair. It had started to rain and neither had brought an umbrella.

Maddie went straight to the candy counter, affixing her nametag to her shirt and dumping her backpack behind the counter where it wouldn't be seen. London followed her.

"Well, what about the pink and yellow Power Rangers? The Mighty Morphin' ones?" London didn't like the idea of full helmet masks, but could totally get behind the skin tight body suits.

"That's actually a pretty good idea, London."

Zach popped up in front of the counter, "I could be your Tommy, baby." The sheer amount of sleaze in his voice made Maddie shudder.

London glared down at the hormonal young teen, having sudden images in her head of tearing him limb from limb with the saber tooth tiger Megazord.

"You know, London," Maddie's voice pulled her from her violent imaginings. Maddie was eying Zach with a mixture of disgust and concern, "the Power Rangers aren't really complete without the full set and some zords. We should think of something else." The pleading look she shot London dissipated some of the sudden dislike she had for the bolder Martin brother.

"Yeah. Especially since we can't enter anymore people."

They both eyed Zach as he slunk away from the candy counter, no doubt planning some prank on a hapless guest.

Cody, sitting on one of the lobby couches, had heard everything. He got up and went to his room.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

London and Maddie were walking down a hallway to London's suite still arguing about what their costumes would be when Cody stopped them.

"Hey, London, Maddie."

"Hey, Cody." The girls chorused with genuine smiles on their faces.

"What's up?" Maddie asked.

"Well," the nervous boy started, "I've heard you two discussing possible costume choices for a contest and I thought these might help."

The girls looked at what he held and smiled with a little confusion. London said, "Your comic books, Cody?"

The boy nodded. "Yup. See, there are a lot of super powered women in these. All of them in easy to copy costumes. I figured there are a wide enough variety of people in these that you two would be able to pick a pair that worked for you both."

"That's really sweet, Cody," Maddie said, "Thank you."

London, already flipping through a comic, looked up and thanked him too. "These'll be really helpful. Thanks Cody!"

Cody was surprised when both girls kissed his cheeks and liberated the comics from his grasp. They had disappeared into London's suite before he'd regained his senses. He was smiling hugely for the rest of the day.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Two weeks later it was Halloween day, the day of the costume contest. London and Maddie hadn't told anyone what their costumes would be. They had hidden their costumes in their bags as they'd gone to school, planning to dress there since the contest and judging weren't until the end of the school day.

Cody couldn't wait to see what they'd chosen, they'd promised to wear their costumes home. Looking out the windows of the Tipton lobby Cody saw dozens of people running around in costume, not all of them children. He too was dressed in a costume; his entire school had worn costumes to school that day. Cody had gone as a mad scientist, complete with rubber gloves, wild hair, a scorched lab coat, and a button that said 'Ask me about my Bunsen Burner'.

His attention was pulled away from the windows by Arwin, dressed as Frankenstein's monster, created and averted some minor disaster by the check in desk.

Suddenly voices behind him cheered, "We won the contest!"

Cody whirled around and saw Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy bouncing around the lobby. They were good costumes.

Poison Ivy caught sight of him and grabbed him around the shoulders in a hug squealing, "We won, Cody, we won! All thanks to you and your comic books! Thank you!" As he was swung about in her arms he knew this was Maddie, which made Harley London. He laughed; he'd have never expected them to choose villains.

Suddenly London got in on the hug, too. Even though he was starting to feel a little stifled he wasn't going to complain. Who would? He had rather good imitations of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn trapping him between them, no man in his right mind would try to escape that. They released him still laughing.

Cody took a closer look at their costumes.

Maddie had used a temporary dye to color her hair a particularly vibrant shade of red; almost an exact match for Ivy. She wore the classic Ivy costume, stylized leaves covering from chest to crotch, leafy elbow gloves, green tights and knee high leaf boots. A modification had been made, there were vines hanging from her arms and curving around her back like a shawl. He watched as she flung one out and caught London, the end of the vine snapping closed around the heiress' wrist. When he asked, Maddie told him she had put those plastic snap bracelets in the ends of each of the vines as she towed London towards them both laughing.

London's costume was just as amazing as Maddie's. She had a complete replica of Harley's red and black cat suit. Her face was painted white, lips red, and a black domino mask covered her eyes. Her hair was hidden by the jester's hood Harley always wore. It all fit London like a second skin. It was no wonder these two had won, they were gorgeous and accurate.

"You two look great! Harley and Ivy were perfect choices!" He enthused.

"Thanks Cody," London smiled at him.

They all wandered over to in front of the candy counter to talk more.

Maddie said, "Those comic books were really helpful Cody. There were so many choices!"

"Why'd you pick Harley and Ivy?" He didn't think they would have chosen to be villains; Maddie is usually all about the heroes.

"Actually, London picked them."

They turned to London, the question clear in their eyes.

London didn't have an answer she was willing to share with them. She picked them because she liked all the subtext in their relationship; she thought it was a lot like her and Maddie's relationship. There was no way those two were just 'best gal pals'. It didn't hurt that their costumes were smoking hot sexy.

Luckily she was saved from answering by Santa popping up behind the candy counter and dangling mistletoe from a pole above her and Maddie's heads.

"Surprise ladies! Tradition demands a kiss."

Maddie instantly knew that voice, "Zach! I really don't think that's app-"

She didn't get the chance to finish. London had grabbed her, turning Maddie's head and dragging her down into a kiss. London made a noise that turned Maddie's knees to jelly and prompter her to kiss back enthusiastically.

Cody, wide-eyed, stuttered something and disappeared into the lounge.

Zach stood slack-jawed, his fake Santa beard slipping off one ear and his belly pillow sliding out from underneath his large coat.

London pulled back and whispered, "Yay me."

Maddie looked into London's eyes, seeing all the things London couldn't say, and dove in for another kiss.

They heard Zach howl, "BEST HALLOWEEN EVER!!"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pamela Isley, a.k.a. Poison Ivy, sat up in her bed with a gasp. "How strange," she whispered.

"What'sa matta Red?" A sleepy voice slurred to Ivy's left.

Ivy looked over at her companion and lover, admiring the vast expanses of smooth exposed skin and the drowsy smile. "Nothing Harley." She smiled down at her girl, "Just an odd dream. Everything's perfect."

Harley reached out and pulled Ivy down beside her and said, "I know a way to make everything even better, Red."

Harley kissed her as she pulled the covers over both of their heads, giggling.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: I love Halloween. Please review.


	12. Lodylodylody4

Stronger than Magic

By Lodylodylody

*************

On the S.S Tipton, most everyone was enjoying the Halloween costume ball.

One young lady who was decidedly NOT enjoying said ball was Addison. She was not inside dancing with the others. She was outside by the ship's railing and looking down at the ocean. The waters were dark, but nowhere near as dark as her mood.

_Stupid Becky_, she thought. _Stealing Woody from me. I ought to…to…_

It frustrated Addison that she couldn't finish her thought, but in truth she knew she couldn't do anything to Becky. Her rival was bigger and stronger than her…bigger and stronger than any girl on the ship in fact. It was unfair. Whoever heard of a school where the varsity wrestling team was captained by a girl? And why had that particular girl set her sights on Woody?

_And to top it all off, she's pretty, _Addison concluded ruefully.

Staying out on deck, the girl fumed about how her night was ruined. She couldn't enjoy the party or the holiday now. If she'd known how things were going to turn out she wouldn't have put so much effort into her costume. She'd done an excellent job of making herself look like Sally the rag-doll from _The Nightmare Before Christmas. _She'd hoped to win a prize in the costume contest, but now she couldn't bring herself to go back into the party.

But while she stayed outside, the sound of someone crying reached her ears. Addison went off in search of the source of the sobs and soon found the one person onboard who was having an even worse night than she…Connie, the ship's activities director.

"Ohmigod," Addison said when she found the older woman huddled in a dark corner and bawling her eyes out. "Are you okay?"

It didn't take long to discover the source of Connie's misery. Her good-for-nothing boyfriend had dumped her…again. Sadly, it was a fairly common occurrence that most everyone on the ship was used to. Connie's boyfriend would break up, make up, and then re-break up their relationship quite often.

"Come on, don't cry," Addison said in a soothing voice. "It's making your makeup run. Whoever heard of a kitty cat with smudged whiskers? Great costume, by the way."

"Really? Thanks," Connie responded to the compliment. She had been quite happy with the cat outfit she'd picked out…she thought it made her look sexy. But now she didn't have anyone to look sexy for.

Addison helped Connie to her feet and the two women went to the nearest restroom to redraw the cat whiskers on Connie's face. While doing so, they commiserated about the problems they were having in the romance department.

"I'm sorry things aren't working out with you and Woody," Connie told the younger girl. "But don't let him turn you into a blubbering mess like me."

"You shouldn't let your guy affect you so much either," Addison advised. "You're really nice. You could find a better guy."

Connie shrugged. "I never seem to have any luck no matter who the guy is."

They talked some more, and Addison asked Connie what was the best thing to do when feeling bad over a break up.

"Plotting revenge makes me feel good sometimes," she replied. "I'll think up all sorts of bad things that could happen to that jerk…and then imagine them happening." She laughed. "I even picked up this book of curses from a little shop in the Caribbean once. I look through it for ideas."

Addison was curious about the book, so Connie led her back to her cabin and showed it to her.

"Did you ever try doing any of these curses for real?"

"Oh no," Connie replied. "I don't believe in that sort of thing. But if I did, I wouldn't want to hurt anyone."

"I wouldn't either," Addison said. "But have you looked at all the things in this book? There aren't just curses." She presented the book back to Connie, opened to a particular page. The older woman's eyes widened and then she smiled.

"Love spells, huh?"

*************

Cody and Bailey had stepped away from the ball to spend some quality time alone.

"I still say we should have won the prize for best duo in the costume contest," Bailey complained.

"I thought we had a shot," Cody responded. "But even if we lost…I still get to look at you like that, so I feel like a winner."

Bailey smiled when she saw the devilish glint in her boyfriend's eyes. She adjusted her rabbit ears then turned around and wiggled her cotton tail at him.

"Oh Hef," she said in a teasing tone. "I bet you say that to all your bunnies."

Cody smiled and put the pipe he was carrying into the pocket of his smoking jacket. "You're the only bunny for me," he said as he slid his arms around her.

But before 'Hugh Hefner' and his Playboy Bunny did anything else, they were interrupted by Addison and Connie who rounded a corner and nearly collided with them.

"Sorry," Addison said. "We were just on the way back to the ball."

"No problem," Bailey said, failing to notice at first the change in her boyfriend.

When Addison and Connie continued on, Cody said nothing. He simply stared at Addison until she disappeared from view. Then he started to walk, zombie-like, in the direction she'd gone.

"Cody?" Bailey asked, growing confused when he gave no response. She ran to catch up with him and saw the blank look in his unblinking eyes.

"Connie? Addison?" the confused girl called out. "Get back here. Something's wrong with Cody!"

*************

"A love spell!?" Bailey exclaimed. "You seriously expect me to believe that?"

"Well, look at him," Addison countered as she pointed at Cody. "You have a better explanation?"

The three females and Cody were back in Connie's cabin. Cody had not spoken or done much of anything but stare blankly at Addison.

"It's the spell alright," Connie said as she looked through the book. "We should have read this more carefully." She laid the tome down and pointed out some significant passages to the other girls.

"Under no circumstances must this spell be cast on Halloween," Addison read. An embarrassed look came to her face. "Can't believe I missed that. Hmm…possible side effects include…oh crap!"

"Thank goodness you stopped us before we got back to the ball," Connie told Bailey. "If you hadn't, every male on the ship would be like Cody."

"Any guy that sees me is going to be dumbstruck like this?" Addison asked in alarm. "But I just wanted Woody. And I wanted him to love me…not turn into a vegetable!"

Connie didn't know what to say to the distraught girl. Though she felt guilty for the feeling, she was secretly glad though that they'd decided to try the spell on Addison first. She would've hated to be stuck with the same problem herself. And it was quite a problem, for if the book was correct…the spell would never wear off. It had to be broken.

"So, if any guy that becomes entranced by seeing Addison can somehow have his attention distracted away from her…that's what breaks the spell?" Bailey asked as she read through the open pages.

"Yes," Connie said. "All it takes is for one guy to snap out of it and then everything will be back to normal."

Still having a hard time believing the whole thing, but unable to discount the evidence before her eyes, Bailey moved to stand in front of her boyfriend.

"Come on, Cody," she said softly. "Time to wake up."

Bailey leaned forward until their lips touched. The kiss she initiated started softly…but the intensity slowly increased as Bailey used her tongue to tease Cody's mouth open. Despite herself, Bailey got lost in the moment. The idea of overcoming some magic curse with a kiss was so romantic. Such a classic idea…and here Bailey was getting to experience it for real. She kissed her man passionately.

And felt her heart sink when she realized he wasn't kissing her back.

Bailey pulled away and saw the same blank look on Cody's face. The same dull look in his eyes.

"It didn't work," she said in a hurt voice.

"What'll we do?" Addison asked.

"I don't know," Connie answered. "You stay here. Bailey and I are going to go get help."

*************

"He didn't respond," Bailey said aloud as she and Connie hurried through the hallways. "He didn't respond at all."

"It's the spell," Connie replied. "It's just because of a spell."

"But…I love Cody," the farm girl went on. "And love is supposed to be stronger than anything." She paused. "Does this mean he doesn't love me?"

Connie stopped and turned to her companion. "It doesn't mean that at all," she assured her. "According to the book, this spell is specifically designed work against feelings of genuine love…that's how it creates the fake feelings of love for whoever casts it." She smiled warmly at the younger girl. "Anyone who knows you and Cody can tell that he loves you."

"Who loves who?" London asked as she came upon the two. The heiress was in a very good mood, having received many compliments on her costume. She'd taken one of the showgirl outfits for her Halloween attire. She'd worn such an outfit before…and she loved the glitter.

"Cody loves Bailey," Connie answered.

"Everyone knows that," the heiress said. She then turned to her roommate. "Truthfully though, you could do better. You'll probably break up with him soon."

The farm girl surprised London by bursting into tears.

"Forget I said anything," the heiress said in a worried tone. "You and Cody will be together forever."

"No, we won't," Bailey cried.

While London tried to comfort her friend, Connie explained the situation.

"Oh no," London said once she'd heard everything. Since this was obviously a big problem, the heiress naturally thought of the one person she usually turned to when problems arose. "We need to tell Moseby."

*************

"I'd say the party is going wonderfully," Mr. Moseby commented as he adjusted the plastic parrot on his shoulder. He felt the bird added just the right touch to his pirate outfit.

"It has been fun," Emma Tutweiller agreed as she scanned the crowd and saw so many happy, if masked, faces. "I've always loved Halloween." She began to wax poetic about memories of trick or treating as a child…but stopped when she noticed that Moseby wasn't exactly listening. "You know you're staring at me again."

"Oh, er… sorry," he stammered. "But in my defense, you had to know you were going to attract stares in that costume."

Emma smiled. She had been stared at a lot that evening and she couldn't say she hadn't enjoyed it. The costume had been rather simple to assemble really. A daringly cut red-dress, some purple opera gloves and a Veronica Lake hairstyle had made her into a living, breathing Jessica Rabbit.

"Yes, I knew," she admitted. "It's one of the things I love about Halloween. It's a night where you can be anything you want to be. And I wanted to be gorgeous." She paused. "I was a little worried about it being too much."

"I don't think it's too much at all," Moseby replied. "But, if I may say, you hardly need to dress like a cartoon character to be gorgeous."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Marion. And feel free to compliment my appearance anytime you want."

"I'll make a note of it."

Emma liked the easy way conversation flowed between them these days. The two had went through some rocky times in dealing with each other since they'd first met…but now things had finally straightened out. A few attempts at dating had let her and Moseby get to know one another very well…and also let them know that they worked best as friends and not lovers. Once they'd made peace with that fact, the two had never gotten along better. He'd even gotten her to appreciate the artistry of the Three Stooges.

Still, while the close friendship was wonderful, it did nothing to help Emma's desire for romance. Her love life was deader than a doornail. She wondered if she'd ever find her soul mate.

But her thoughts on that matter were pushed aside when she and Moseby were approached by London, Bailey and Connie…and heard their strange story.

*************

"So help me, if this is some bizarre Halloween prank," Mr. Moseby said as they approached Connie's cabin. "You'll all pay for this."

"You know I wouldn't be involved in anything like that," Connie said as she started to open the door. "You'll see…oh, wait." She hesitated. "It's not safe for you to see Addison. You'd be entranced just liked Cody."

"Pish posh," he said dismissively as he moved Connie aside to enter the cabin. "I sincerely doubt I'm going to…uhhhhhh."

He was silent after that, and the rest of the girls walked into the cabin to find him staring at Addison…dumbstruck.

"You weren't kidding," Emma said as she looked at the two hapless males.

"What are we going to do?" Addison fretted.

"Let me see this book of yours," was Emma's response.

*************

After reading through the pages for quite a long time, none of the women were sure of what to do. It was clear that the spell would be broken if they could get either male to focus on something other than Addison. But since Bailey's kiss had failed, nobody was confident about any other tactics.

"This is crazy," London declared as she started to grow bored. To the shock of the others, she grabbed Cody, spun him around, and planted a very serious kiss smack dab on his lips.

Unfortunately, it had no effect. Cody slowly turned back to Addison once the heiress let go of him. London looked quite angry at the result. But she didn't exactly have a corner on anger at that moment.

"What were you thinking?" Bailey demanded.

"I was just trying to help," the rich girl shot back. "Why are you yelling at me?"

"He's my boyfriend! I'm the only one that gets to kiss him."

"What? You think I enjoyed that?" London asked. "I was just doing it to break the spell. I wouldn't have done it at all if you and Cody weren't my friends!"

"Girls! Girls!" Emma shouted. "This isn't helping!"

Once things had calmed down, Connie turned to Emma. "What else can we try?"

"Something has to get through," the teacher answered. "Something that guys react to. Something that…" She trailed off as a thoughtful expression came to her face.

"You have an idea?" Bailey asked hopefully.

"Well, yes…but it's somewhat…awkward," Emma admitted.

"Awkward or not," Connie said. "We've got to do something."

Emma took a breath. "I'm glad you feel that way. Because I'll need your help."

"Sure. What do you have in mind?"

Emma blushed slightly and cleared her throat. "I don't know if this will work. But I remember…well, back when I was in college, some friends of mine figured out a way to get any guy to buy us drinks." She paused, feeling uncomfortable for telling this story in front of three of her teenage students. Nonetheless, she had no choice.

"Miss Tutweiller," Bailey gasped in shock once she heard all the details.

"Wow," Addison enthused. "And the guys always paid for your drinks? Awesome!"

Emma rolled her eyes. "You never heard that from me…but yes. Guys are suckers for it."

London shook her head. "Men are dumb."

Connie spoke up next. "So, you want me to--"

"I certainly can't do it with any of them," Emma interrupted as he waved her arm towards the rest of the girls in the room.

"No…that's true," Connie answered. She looked thoughtful, and a tad nervous, for a moment but then squared her shoulders. "We can do this. It's for a good cause. And it's all just acting. I've done Community Theater."

"Yeah, that's a good way to think of it," Emma said. "This is all a performance." She took a breath. "Let's do this."

The two women talked for a moment and decided the best way to go about their plan. They moved Addison to one side of the room, and placed Cody and Moseby directly across from them. The two males continued to stare dumbly towards the girl.

"Now we'll just go between them and Addison and they'll be looking right at us," Emma concluded.

"We should probably go all out," Connie said, and then giggled nervously. "I can't believe we're doing this. I've never--"

"It's acting," Emma repeated. "Acting. And you're right…we want to get through to them. We'll have to play it up as much as we can."

"I know you can do it," Bailey called out from the sidelines.

"Yeah," London added. "Work it girls!"

Emma and Connie took their places. Each took a moment to 'get in character' (they're costumes proved very useful in this) and then they began.

"Hey there kitty," Emma said in a low sultry voice as she looked over towards Connie. "Come over here and let me pet you."

"Mee…yow," the other woman responded as she sauntered over and put her arms around the school teacher.

Emma raised her hand to run her fingers through Connie's hair. The she suddenly pulled the shorter woman's head forward so that their lips met. The two kissed passionately.

"Oh my!" Bailey said.

"I wish we had popcorn," London added.

Emma and Connie continued the kiss for a long time….to better ensure that it would break the spell. Fortunately, it didn't feel that uncomfortable. In fact, Emma couldn't recall the kissing she'd done back in college as being so pleasant. Connie's lips were so soft. And the activities director was certainly showing a lot of enthusiasm.

Connie, for her part, had never kissed another woman before. Part of her was shocked at just how much she was enjoying it. This little performance was turning out to be not much of an acting challenge at all.

"Wuh…wuh…WOW!" Cody's voice rang out.

"Oh…yes. Very nice," said Mr. Moseby, his tone sounding much less proper and refined than usual.

Emma ended the kiss with Connie, and thought she heard a regretful whimper from the other woman as she did so. She looked to the males and saw that they were both back to normal.

"It worked!" Bailey shouted.

Addison joined in the cheering as did London. Connie and Emma let go of each other, blushed furiously, and then avoided making eye contact with one another for the next few moments.

*************

Once everything had been straightened out and everyone was satisfied that Addison could safely mingle amongst the males, it was time to call it a night.

Cody, assuring Bailey that he did indeed love her, walked her back to her cabin. London made a point of telling them that she was going stay out late that evening…thus earning the farm girl's forgiveness for kissing Cody earlier.

Mr. Moseby confiscated Connie's book of curses and thanked her and Emma for their…special efforts…in putting things right.

Addison went back to her room and didn't even think about Woody or Becky. The night had been too eventful to worry about them at the moment.

Somehow, Emma still found herself in Connie's cabin after everyone else had departed.

"Well, some Halloween, huh?" the teacher said.

"Yeah," the activity director replied. "Thanks for fixing everything."

"I'm just glad it worked." Emma took a breath. "I think I'll go now."

"Umm…wait," Connie said in an unsure voice.

Emma stopped. "Look, I know this was a little strange, but I think if we both just forget tonight ever happ--"

She was unable to finish. Talking simply wasn't possible once Connie had grabbed Emma in mid-sentence and crushed their mouths together in a hungry kiss.

That Halloween would later be looked back on as the night that led to Connie dumping her good-for-nothing boyfriend…and the night that Emma stopped worrying about finding her soul mate.

*************

The End.

_author's note: __This story takes place in the same reality as my previous three entries in the collection. Please review. _


	13. TheBaudelaireOrphan

_Now as you read this tale, to make it feel spookier, read it outside in the dark when no one's around or if you can't, read it in a room with no lights on and no sound, just to give it a more spookier feel , if you think it's not that good read it again but with one of my options......._

**A Spooky Stop**

Today was Halloween and our friends Zack, Cody, Woody, Bailey and new friend Emily were pleading Mr. Moseby for some costumes to go trick or treating

"Please Moseby I'll be good, only if I can have a costume"Zack said

"No, and I know you won't be good you're never good"Moseby said walking away

"Oh, come on!" Woody said ,him and the rest following Moseby

"Sorry but all the costumes are for passengers not students, and don't even ask about going to the party, and if I can find anything I'll give it to you to have a little party in Cody and Woody's cabin, but don't go in Zack's"He said

"Thanks Mr. Moseby! And why aren't we allowed in Zack's cabin?"Bailey said

"Because.."he looked at them and left. So the teens left as well, but went in Zack's cabin...

They were all waiting, for, Cody to find out why they couldn't stay in the cabin, he was looking on his laptop and he found out why..

"Listen to this, every Halloween night, a ghost lurks in this cabin. The ghost will put a curse on you if you are in the cabin after what happened to it's family.."he read out loud and turned to face every one else

"And..?"Zack said

"And.........that's all it says"Cody finished

"No I mean, what will happen to us?"he re-said

"Didn't you listen? We'll get cursed!"Bailey told him and all Zack could say was "Ah"

"I would advise we leave now"Emily suggested

"Good point"Cody said and every one walked to the door and ran out.

---

Soon every one was in Woody and Cody's cabin, sitting, bored. Just then Mr. Moseby came in

"Ok, now I promised that you could have a party of your own , so I brought some left over decorations and CD player"he said bringing them in "And no one must come out a spoil the party" everyone nodded as Moseby left

"Ok, I'll put up the decorations and you can well.....do something else"Bailey said as she picked up a decoration which was a black ribbon with little pumpkins, ghosts and spiders on it, everyone else sat in a circle on the floor and talked

"So...who wants to tell a scary story?"Zack said

"Me! I've got one!"Woody said flapping his hand in the air "Ok"Zack said as Woody began

"It was dark and a little boy was sitting lonely on a park bench, when suddenly he heard a growl, only to be his stomach because he was hungry so he ate a chocolate bar on his way back home"Woody said and smiled when he was done

"What do you think?"

"It wasn't scary"Cody told him

"Yeah, let me tell one"Zack said and began his story but as he began Cody realised something and muttered "Where's Emily?" so he got up and went to see where she was and as he thought she was in Zack's cabin.

-X-

"Emily what are you doing?"he said coming in through the door

"Oh it's you"she said after getting a little shock

"Yeah, sorry, but what are you doing?"he asked again

"Oh well you see I have this necklace that is very important to me and it's missing"she said quite shyly

"Oh ok, but it might not be here it might be in the other room"Cody said nicely taking her hand

"Ok"she blushed following him to the door but when he tried to open it, it was locked.....Cody bit his lip "I think we might be........locked in"Cody said with a nervous smile but that nervous smile turned into a frightened one

"You remember that how were not supposed to be in here because there's a..."

"Ghost"they said together

"What are we going to do,were going to get cursed and we're trapped"Emily said sadly sitting on a bed, Cody was trying to think of something, A. to get out and B. to calm Emily down

"No, were going to get out of here and not get cursed"Cody said quite confident

"How?"Emily asked looking up

"Actually, I haven't thought of something...but I will think of something"Cody said less confident never the less Emily smiled and hugged him "Thanks, it's nice to know that you care"

"And here, I've thought of something, you could work on how to get out and I'll go on your laptop and learn more about the ghost"she said after breaking the hug

"Ok"he said and went to the door to see if he could open it, while Emily went on the laptop

-X-

Bailey had just finished putting up the decorations, and looked at them proudly

"What do you think?"she said

"Oh yeah they're great!, now we can start the party!"Zack said slightly sarcastic

"Hey where's Cody?"Bailey said confused

"You mean where's Emily"Zack 'corrected'

"No you mean, where's the decorations, they not in the box"Woody joined in

"No Woody, Cody and Emily are gone"Bailey explained

"Oh, let's go looks like they might have been taken by the ghost"Woody said so they all went

-X-

"Cody, come here"Emily said quite happy

"What?"Cody said coming, she was in the corner and she was digging a hole in the floor

"Why are you making a hole?"

"Because, they say that that there is a photo album here, and maybe if we get it we can bring the ghost to us-"she began

"And make it not give us a curse if we put the album back!, brilliant plan"Cody finished and smiled

"Thanks"She smiled but then she accidently made a hole through the floor, and a man got hit by his ceiling or their floor. He looked up and said

"Can I help you?"

"Sorry we were just...uh"Emily stuttered

"Well you see we were kinda looking for a photo album here..?"Cody said

"Ah, you mean the Evans family photo album?"the man said in his weird accent which sounded quite a deep Italian vampire-ish accent

"Yeah I think so.."Emily said and the man somehow was in the room

"Let me introduce myself, I am Boris Evans descendant of Angelina Evans"Mr. Evans introduced himself

"A-and is that the ghost that haunts, this cabin? Angelina?"Cody guessed

"Ah quite the smart one"Boris rubbed his hair "Yes, but she does not haunt this cabin any more"

"Why?"Emily asked quite intrigued

"because as a person everyone teased her and made fun of her but when she died she took revenge on them, by..curing them"Mr. Evans explained

"So we won't get cursed?"Emily said and she got the simple reply back "No"

"So can we see the photo album?"Cody asked wanting to find more out, so Mr. Evans nodded and came to a wall which looked like it was the only part that looked like wood, Boris pulled the panel and there was an old, dusty photo album. He took it and they looked through it.

-X-

They were in the hallway Zack tried to open the door it was still locked

"It's locked"Zack told them

"Well, we could always get Moseby to open it"Bailey suggested

"Yeah but we aren't allowed because of the party"Woody told her

"But do we want to save our friends?"Bailey said

"Yeah, let's go"and they all went to the sky deck were the party was held

–.-.-.-.-.--..-

"Moseby"Bailey tapped him on the back

"What are you doing her- wait where's Cody and Emily?"

"That's exactly why we're here, they are locked in Zack's cabin"Bailey pointed out and Mr. Moseby march down to the cabin, and opened the door

"Ah! Mr. Evans what are you doing here"he stopped

"Oh just helping these two wonderful children"Boris answered back

"Oh really?, well Emily Cody would you please leave the cabin and give Mr. Evans some peace"Moseby said

"Wait, we're not supposed to be in here because we're giving a passenger some rest?"Bailey asked confused Moseby nodded

"what about the ghost?"Zack added

"What ghost, there is not ghost right?he laughed

"No not any more"Boris said

"Ah, ok well can you lot leave the cabin"Moseby walked out and suddenly the boat started to make a noise

"What was that?"he said like his catchphrase 'Good luck with that'

"I think the boat must have stopped"Cody told Moseby "Last time it made that noise, it was broken, so we got to stay at a hotel"

"Well, maybe you could stay at the Evans mansion, it's not far"Mr. Evans said

"If they really want-"Moseby sighed but got cut off by "Yes!, Moseby please?" Moseby nodded as the got ready to stay at Evans mansion.

-xXx-

As Mr. Boris Evans had said, the mansion wasn't far. All they had to to was get on land and trek up a hill.

When they had reached the top there was a huge dark and grimy mansion sitting on the hill with a dark and gloomy forest surrounding it, they went up a few steps and went through the big door, it creaked as they opened it. Outside you could hear bats squeaking but inside you could here the echoing footsteps of four frightened teens

"Wow,it's a little different to what I expected"Cody said looking around at the dusty old house

"Me too"Bailey agreed looking around as well

"But hey, it's great for Halloween"Zack pointed out "Which is today"

"Yeah, I almost forgot.."Emily said she was too quite scared

"Quit being Halloweenies, It only a big, old mansion what's there to be scared of"Zack said and Boris tapped him on the back "Ahh what was that!"

"Yeah, call us 'Halloweenies_'_"Cody sighed

"Would you like me to take you to your rooms?"Boris asked his voice booming in the big house, the teens nodded and they went

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Boris took them up a flight of curling stairs and to four doors

"Each of you pick a room and meet me downstairs"Mr. Evans said and went back down the stairs. Emily touched a door "Ok that's my room let's leave"she was a bought to go when Cody stopped her

"No Emily we have to to this properly"Cody told her

"I agree with Cody, but is it just me or does he seem like a vampire"Bailey shared

"No what I was saying , is-where's Woody!?"Emily said

"Oh no!, Woody's gonna get his blood sucked!Zack panicked, a figure emerged from the darkness and said

"Hi guys!"

"Woody"they chimed

"We thought you were gonna have your blood sucked"Zack said

"No only you did, anyway where were you?"Cody said

"Looking for the buffet"Woody said back

"Buffet?"Bailey said

"Yeah if there's a mansion there's always a buffet"Woody stated

"Ok....who wants to go?"Emily asked

"I suppose..."Cody answered and they left

-.-.-.-.-.

They all came into the dining room where Boris was, in the dining room there was a big glass window at the back and the room you fancily furnished. It had a big chandelier over a long table and had some knights in the corners of the room. The wall was a red colour and the floor was red to but had some gold patterns on it and was covered with dust. The four teens took a seat at the table and a old bony man with a black robe came and put soup out on the table.

"Now I thought you children would be hungry so Hamilton here made you some soup"Boris told them and Hamilton waved

"Enjoy"his faint and croaky voice said, and Hamilton went away

"Now, let me tell you of Angelina"Boris started

"Umm...actually Mr. Evans, I'm not really hungry"Emily said looking at the food

"Oh that's ok, I'll just feed it to monster"Boris said "Monster!" every on looked at each other, monster?

A little cute dog came in, that was monster?

"Oh, hey your cute, how can you be called Monster?"Bailey said to the dog, and he growled back at her showing his big, sharp teeth

"Come here Monster, don't frighten the girl come and get this lovely soup"Mr. Evans told the dog and he came happily

"Now that you don't have anything to eat, you can look after Bon Bon"he told Emily "Just go out side and whistle a tune", so Emily got up and went to the back garden, she didn't want to go and she was hungry but didn't want to eat the soup but she probably had no chocie, she whistled a tune, another tune came back she did the same again and another tune came back.

Soon a boy came out of the forest behind

"Bon Bon?"Emily asked confused

"Yes Bon Bon at your service"he bowed

"OK ..... what do I do I-I mean your a person, not a dog"She said still confused

"Never mind, let's just play catch"he changed to subject pulling out a ball

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Meanwhile inside

"Now, I'll tell you of Angelina Evans-"Mr. Evans said and got cut off by Zack

"And why, couldn't Emily stay and join the conversation?" Boris gave him look and continued

"Well, Angelina was kind and gentle, but had quite a temper"he shared "And she always got teased, by every little thing in her life. Every one was mean to her her even her family and friends... so when she died, she cursed all the people who had been mean and after a while people got upset by some things so she...left"

all three of them listened and watched, but they did not watch Mr. Evans they were watching things in the dining room move around thing on the table go up and down, what was going on

Woody gasped, something near him had just moved Boris smiled

"...Henrietta stop scaring our guests and come out" and a pale little girl with shoulder-length hair with a bow in the back, wearing some sort of white gown came out of nowhere, she laughed

"Sorry uncle Boris but it's just so fun"she smiled and came closer

"Bailey, Cody, Zack and Woody meet my niece Henrietta Evans"the two Evans smiled

"Hello Henrietta"Bailey said nervously

"Hello Bailey, Woody,Cody and Zack"she relied

"Wait! How do you know our names?"Woody asked and she rolled her eyes

"Now sit down and let me tell them more about Angelina"Mr. Evans told her "Or not?..."

"No ur thank you......"Cody said shyly

"Good! Then you can play with me"Henrietta grabbed Baileys arm and left, the boy's looked at Boris who nodded so they guessed that means they had to leave

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Whoa, what's that?"Emily looked up at a tree a doll was hung by the head by string on the tree

"Oh that's just my sisters doll"Bon Bon looked up, grabbed it and threw it to a window, Emily just looked at him

"Umm.......so what do you want to do know?"she asked

"Want to see my friends?!"he said

"No...

"Then how about we go inside?"he suggested

"Sure it is cold and I want to see my friends"

"It always is cold.."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Bailey had just come into Henrietta's room, it was quite messy and the walls were faded and peeling off

"Bon Bon....."she smirked picking up the doll,she looked at it

"Oh who's this?"Bailey asked nicely taking a look at this doll

"My sister"Henrietta simply replied

"Huh?"

"Never mind...., hey! Do you want to have a tour of the house?"she changed the subject

"Ok" Bailey said and they went off to look at the house

-.-.--.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Zack, Cody and Woody were all standing in the hallway, outside the dining room keeping their voices low

"You know how Bailey said before that he seems like a vampire?"Zack asked, they nodded "I think she's right"

"Yeah but, it's hard because they don't....exist"Cody whispered

"I know but come on we are in a spooky house, loads of weird stuff is happening he sounds like a vampire"Zack went on

"You're right, but how are we gonna get out and...-"Cody was saying

"We'll make a plan"Woody cut him off

"How?"

"We'll think of it as we go, here luckily I brought walkie-talkies!"Zack handed them out

"You always seem to have something that can help at a bad time"Cody said and they split up

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-

Bon Bon had just taken Emily up to his room, in the room it was dark and it was quite messy

"Umm.....what are we going to do?"

"Here sit down"he told her, so she sat down, he looked out the window and hair started growing from his skin, yes he was turning into a werewolf, Emily gasped

"W-What, How? What are you? A W-W-Werewolf?"

"Yes, and I'm almost part vampire too"he came closer too her

Zack was outside the room, he guessed that since Emily wasn't outside, she would be in the room with Bon Bon on the door. He listened to the most important part and could not believe his ears, he had to go in, he did

"Freeze sucker!"he had just jumped in

"Zack!you saved me"Emily said hugging him

"And now you need some one to save both of you"

"Oh dear"they said together

"Wait!"Zack turned around, he was talking to his walkie-talkie"Hello guys?,guys? Speak to me",he turned around and smiled and turned back to his walkie-talkie, Cody was on the other side

"Hey, Zack well I'm in the attic it's really scary in here. I was just talking to woody who is in the basement and there is coffins...proof where are you?"

"I'm with Bon Bon and Emily, Bon Bon is a real vampire slash werewolf and he's gonna get us,help!"he replied

"Oh, your too late,no one's gonna save you now"Bon Bon smirked, over hearing Zack

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Bailey had spent quite a while having a tour of the mansion and was now in a room that was quite bare and dusty, a bear was sitting on a bed all alone and soon Bailey was going to be

"I hear Uncle Boris calling!better go"Henrietta quickly went out the door

"Ok...."bailey stood in the room alone, she sat on the bed. The bear was gone, it had moved

"Uhh, Henrietta? Are you still....there?"Bailey said, she then went over to the door, it was locked

"Help....that bear is creepy, help"

she spent a while wiggling the door before she got out, she ran away and down stairs

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cody as you know was in the attic what could he do there was there away to escape?, he looked around the room, there was a hole with a mirror attached to it, what was it for? He went over to it when you looked out the hole you could see outside and below the hole was another mirror stuck to the wall, the mirror stuck to the wall moved and then the sun shone and well.... I bet you can guess what happened, the light bounced off the mirrors and sent the light in different directions, and it went into Bon Bon's room

Bon Bon was about to have another go at biting their necks but failed as the light shone through. And... you know what that does to vampires, he died...

"Yes!"Emily exclaimed "But..how did it happen?"

"I don't know, let's go"Zack said and they both left

As they reached downstairs they bumped into Bailey

"Bailey!"Emily said happily

"Glad to see you too"she smiled "really glad, I was locked in a room with this moving bear, it was..creepy"

"Well good for you we were in a room with a vampire slash werewolf"Zack told her, bailey made a face and they all left

-.-.-.-.-.--.--

Now Woody, was still in the basement with all the weird coffins and he wanted to leave but..................... he ended up trapped with Boris

"Ah, I see you found us out, we are vampires"Boris said

"I..know"woody said slowly

"And you know what that means"Boris said

"No..?"Woody said confused, maybe he was scared to know what happens or maybe...well...yeah

"I will suck your blood! And you will be a vampire too!"he told him, actually annoyed

"Ok......."Woody waited, and then ran away making some sort of weird laugh.

He ran all the way to where Emily, Bailey and Zack were and went to the back door to leave

"RUN!!!"he shouted and well they all followed

Cody had just struggled to get out of the attic and climbed down a rope only to see four screaming people running down into the woods so he followed, in the woods they were met by loads of thing in the woods like strange noises and for some reason.....people, dead, people. Soon they were lost and they lost each other they were running around the woods trying to find each other and when they bumped into each other they saw a light and ran for it, they ended up in a small area with a girl sitting calmly on a cushion with bars above her and some underneath playing them making a sort of spooky echo noise

"Hello"she said in a soft calm sightly spooky voice

"Hello"Bailey waved unsure

"Don't be afraid, I may be Angelina Evans but I tell you that I'm the kind one of the Evans'"she,Angelina said

"you're Angelina?"Emily said

"Yes, I see you have been having trouble with Boris, Bon Bon and Henrietta"

"Yeah and...?"Zack said, now they were all a little calmer

"You tell me"

"Huh?"

"I think what she means is that we have to tell her about it"Cody told him, she nodded

"Well we all came when the boat stopped and after we saw upstairs it al went wrong, we were in th dining room with food but when Emily said she didn't want to eat it she left to look after Bon Bon and when we had heard all about you we all were split up"Bailey explained

"Right I see, so you escaped?"

"Yep"

"good then well done you survived"she smiled "Now if you are going to leave, then you better leave for good , there is a short-cut through that long grass over there good luck"

"Oh ok.....thank you"Bailey said the others nodded in a response of thanks and left for the over grown grass

"Oh and Emily?"Angelina said

"Yes"Emily turned around

"I believe this belongs to you"she said and nothing happened, Emily looked at her and Angelina pointed with her head ,smiling, to Emily's neck. Emily looked down and there she saw her locket

"Oh thank you! So much just thank you!"she said and left smiling.

-X-

they had all just slipped they're way down the long grass to a little beach, where the S.S Tipton was. The boat wasn't where it was and you could see it had sailed away, their day had just gotten worse

"What?"Bailey said looking at the sailed away boat

"It sailed away"Cody said

"Without us"Zack continued

"Why?"Woody asked

"They know we're here, maybe they are looking for a better place to dock"Emily said making or trying to make everyone feel better

"And now what are we going to do? We are stuck on a little beach no one is going to save us, what next? Some one comes and actually helps us"Zack said

"Yes!"Woody said

"What?"

"I found a pretty shell and some one's gonna save us!"

"No...no one is"Zack told him making Woody's smile go away

"Or not.."Emily said

"What!?"Bailey asked quite excited

"Well......it may-is? Are only transport to the boat or..."Emily stepped out the way to reveal a sea monster

"What the feathers is that?"

"Wow, a real sea monster, I mean what a twist"Cody said walking over to the monster

"Yeah what a twist, I mean will it take us away from this place?"Bailey said, they all looked at each other then the monster, who had a strange smile they climbed aboard

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.

They had just started to go further out when the monster, who they soon for some reason named Bradley, turned direction and headed for a big mountain-ish hill

"Wait no! Turn around! We need to get to the boat!"they shouted but Bradley didn't listen and kept going until it reached the mountain-ish hill and stopped, looked like they had no choice but to get off and venture out

"Hmm I wonder why we are here"Cody said as Bradley left

"Bye Bradley"Bailey waved, like the others

"Well we better go...look"Emily said and they went but little did they know they had climbed the mountain which was a little strange because mountains and hills go up.

Once they had gotten to the top there was three trees and a scroll, another twist to their strange day

"What does it say?"Zack sighed like the rest they were all tired of things randomly popping up

"Well we'll never find out now"Woody said throwing it down the mountain

"OH well, Cody Bailey can you pull a branch off a tree"Emily said, and not bothering to realise how odd this was they both pulled of a branch off one of the trees like Emily and waited

"Throw it away"so as she said that they threw the branches away

"What was the point of that?"Zack said

"Watch"Emily said and purple flowers started to bloom everywhere, the sun came up and every thing seemed peaceful but much better, the S.S Tipton was back where it had been

"Wow"Bailey said looking around

"Who did this?"Zack said

""Well obviously Emily did"Woody told him

"No, I did I saved you, I made your day have a happy ending. Throwing some branches off a hill seems odd to make all this, but here you restored back the goodness and killed the vampires also I'm sorry I used you Emily but it was the only way"a soft calm slightly spooky voice said, yes it was Angelina

"So generally you saved us"Zack said but Angelina had already vanished "Oh"

"Wow, think, the person who we thought was going to ruin our lives, saved them"Cody said

""Yeah, well who thinks we should go to the ship?"Emily asked

"Let's go!"they said and trekked back down the hill and ran to the ship, they were glad to see it.

-xXx-

As they reached the sky deck they saw Mr. Moseby and Miss. Tutweiller talking

"It's so great to see you!"Bailey said

"And you"Tutweiller said not excited like the rest

"We've been through quite a lot this Halloween, and hopefuly it wont happen again"Emily smiled

"Who wants a nap?"Zack said

"Ok"Woody simply said , they both left

"Well, we made it"Bailey said and smiled, the three high-fived each other

"Bye, Moseby, Tutweiller"they waved and left

and as they left they smiled that they didn't end up being vampires, and this was a Halloween that they would never forget.

**By TheBaudelaireOrphan**


	14. INTERMISSION

**We Interrupt our Regularly Scheduled Program…**

By Lodylodylody

_Note: A message of some importance follows this tale. Don't forget to read it._

*************

The basement of Max's house was currently hosting a small Halloween get-together. Too small and informal to be considered a party…it was just some of Max's friends from school. So far, they'd spent most of the evening watching the special holiday themed episode of _Yay Me! Starring London Tipton_.

"Can you believe how many Halloween stories fans have made up about the guys?" Bob commented.

Barbara let out a humorless laugh. "Why aren't there any stories about us?"

Max shook her head and offered her friend a root beer. "Don't sound so bitter Barb. The way some of these stories have gone…if you were in any of them, you might get killed…or worse."

"Yeah, there's been some scary stuff so far," Mark agreed. "The contributors sure have wild imaginations."

"Oh come on," Barbara continued to complain. "Look, I understand that Zack and Cody are going to get a lot of attention. And London, of course…it's her web show after all. But we've known them for years, and we haven't even been mentioned yet. Meanwhile there have been stories that have mentioned Woody, Addison, Bailey, Maddie…even Lance and Millicent! It's ridiculous."

"Let it go dear," Bob told his girlfriend.

"Are you trying to order me around?" she asked in a pointed tone as she glared at the redhead.

"N-no," he stammered. "Of course not."

Mark held a hand up to his mouth and coughed…though the cough sounded suspiciously like he was saying "Whipped!"

"Tapeworm was in a story," Barbara went on. "When's the last time any of us have seen him around…yet still he gets a story. And Agnes even got a story where she had her way with Zack. Is it so much to ask that we get some attention too?"

"It would be nice if we had some stories about us as well," Janice spoke up. "But I'm just happy to see whatever the fans are sending in…no matter who is in them."

Her twin sister Jessica nodded. "Although it would be fun if we were in a story. Being chased by some scary monster."

"Or maybe we could be the monsters?" Janice responded. "Or what if one of us were the monster and one of us weren't?" She laughed at her sister. "One of us could be the evil twin. That would be smashing!"

"Really REALLY smashing!" Jessica agreed.

Max stood up in front of the computer and quieted all her friends.

"Hey," she told the group. "I don't know if any of the rest of the Halloween stories are going to have us in them or not…but that doesn't matter. The important thing is that some really cool people have put a lot of hard work into producing these stories…and there are more yet to come. It's not over yet."

She moved away from the computer to take a seat with the rest of her friends.

"I can't wait to see what happens next," she said as her eyes, and those of her companions, watched eagerly.

*************

_And now…on with the show…_

*************

**Authors Note: Lodylodylody and Woundedhearts :)**

**Hi, I hope everyone had a great and safe Halloween. I just wanted to remind you that the deadline for entries has been moved to November 10th at midnight. So there is still time, if you've considered adding a story to the collection.**

**There are still a few stories pending, including a couple of mine. And we appreciate your patience.**

**We also want to take the time to thank all the authors who have submitted or will submit a story at this time. I think this has been a great success so far, and everyone is enjoying the experience.**

**We also want to thank everyone who reviewed or will review these stories. The authors worked hard to make them fun and exciting for the readers and we think they have done a wonderful job! So we give them props and two thumbs way up!!! :)**

**Again Many Smiles, and Many Thanks! **


	15. DarkElements10 2

_**Bang**_

**By: DarkElements10**

How long have they teased me?

How long have I craved the sweet taste of revenge?

As I walk down the hall, into my class, I wonder this. In my usual black jacket, my usual black clothes, my usual hateful attitude, I wonder this. I also wonder, how I changed from a sweater vest wearing good boy to this. But I just smile and continued smirking as I thought of all of the torture they put me through.

Sitting down, the teacher smiles.

Bastards.

All of them, motherfucking bastards.

The wounds I have on my arms…the way they look at me…the way I know they're talking behind my back…I can't take it anymore. I've tried to control my mood, the hate and sorrow and rage that floods me when I look at one of my fellow students. But they don't know I've stopped taking the pills, stopped sleeping again.

Started cutting again.

If they knew…they'd talk again.

No.

No more.

No fucking more.

They already took my girlfriend from me. Yes, my sweet, innocent little Bailey had moved onto my brother, all because the rumors and the talking behind my back had gotten to her. I can still see the sad smile on her face when she broke up with me, promising we'd still be friends. I remember how I had held onto that false hope. Now I realize that I was acting so much like a baby when I begged her not to let us end.

They tease me for that too.

Yesterday, I bought a gun. I bought a gun and a hell of a lot of ammunition. I'll make them all pay. For what they've done to me. For the words, for the smirks, for the mocking laughs…for their smiles while I suffered and for the ignorance.

Yes, I'll make them all pay.

Just like I've been dreaming about forever.

This passive-aggressive, seemingly sadistic young man has been though too much. The end of my relationship, the emotional and verbal abuse of my peers, the words of my fucking brother, the comments…it's all too much. My hand strokes the gun lovingly. It's a Desert Eagle, a nice semi-automatic pistol and perfect for my purpose. One of my fingers strokes over the trigger. It feels so perfect....

You will be my guide out of this shithole.

I stand, ignoring Miss. Tutwiler's order to 'please sit down.'

"No," I reply, and glare at her. She starts to speak again. Her mouth moves and she asks if I want a referral. Funny, I've never gotten one before. Neither have I received a detention. My grades may have turned to shit, but I'm not a bad student.

Or so she thought.

As she begins to command me, I draw the gun. Students scream and scramble away from me. The teacher screams and begs me to put it away.

I raise it to my head, and ask, "Me or you?"

"W-We can get you help!" she cries.

She means the institution.

I can see it in her eyes. In the eyes of all the students as well, actually. They think I should be locked up. They're scared of me. They want me to put the gun down and let those fuckers take me away. No. No. I move it from my head. I've had practice. I've shot my head with no bullets in the gun, shot little animals to death…so fucking fitting, now that I think about it.

She sighs with relief.

It's the last sound she makes.

_Bang._

I move it fast and shoot her once in the forehead, watching her cripple over and collapse, shuddering. Students are screaming and crying now. I walk calmly to the door and lock it, feeling content and comfortable now.

"There," I say, kicking her corpse lightly. "Much better without her nagging at me. I don't need help, really. I know exactly what I want to do with this gun. Now. You, there. With the denim jacket. Get up."

He obliges. It's him I want dead next. He used to mock me. "Please don't shoot me," he begs. "Please, please don't shoot me!" He's crying, the tears rolling out of his eyes like a waterfall. Annoying me.

I walk over to him and place the gun to his head. "If I remember correctly, you used to mock me. Call me weird and stupid for being a loner. For enjoying my solitude. Fuck off. Take your last words now." I stroke the trigger.

He screams please and sobs viciously. Quite frankly, if he wants that to be his last word, then fine. Please will be his last exclamation, one screamed out in fear and desperation.

He shivers and silently begs me with his eyes.

Pleading me not to do it silently.

Agreeing with the teacher that I should be hospitalized.

No.

_Bang._

Blood and brain matter sprays everywhere.

I wipe it off my cheek.

Messy, it is.

I wipe the gun off and kiss the hot barrel, thinking of what I can do to make this better. There are more screams and I can hear people pounding on the door, threatening to break it down if I won't open it willingly. Guess they'll have to break it down. I fire it off until I run out of ammo, five more shots. This gun is a .50 AE, and I bend to pick up more bullets. I fill it, and then turn. Seven are dead, and I've only use for six of these bullets.

I fire them off into random people, and then I look at the mess I've created. The teacher lays there, the bullet hole in her forehead bleeding profusely. The students I've shot lie in different positions, one twitching as his head pours blood everywhere.

Twelve dead now.

Soon to be thirteen.

As the door cracks open, I turn and raise the gun to my head.

"Goodbye," I say, thinking.

They're shocked to see me, of all people, committing this massacre.

The quiet, reclusive man in the corner is a murderer?

Since when?

Since forever, I would answer, would someone ask.

Constant fucking laughter…it's driven me insane, I suppose. My answer never comes. Suicide has always been a thought of mine. Only know, my last attempt, will it work. The ones before it, no, they did not work.

But this one will.

I sighed.

My last words slip from my mouth. "It only takes one shot, you know."

I do hear two people shout my name before I pull the trigger though. I can hear it plain as day. _'Cody!_' It came from Zack and Bailey. But it was too late.

_Bang._

**Kind of morbid, but I thought that it would be a good fit for the Halloween theme. Thanks for reading though.**


	16. Wyntirsno

"Arwinstein On the Loose" By: Wyntirsno

It must have been the hundredth time that day that Cody checked his computer, he was looking for an email from his mom. He hadn't heard from her since she said that she was coming for fall break, and he was starting to get worried, seeing as she was at least a day late in contacting him.

She had never forgotten to write to her boys since their first week at Sea School.

In fact she very often wrote more than that, there had been times when Cody had checked and found 4 or 5 came all at once. She was supposed to be arriving in the next couple of days and they needed to get her travel details.

He decided to go across the hall and ask his twin if he had heard from her. He knocked on the door and heard a faint "Come in."

"Hey Zack has mom emailed you with her travel schedule yet?" Cody asked.

"Now that you mention it I haven't heard from her in a few days," Zack said. "Why do you ask, she usually sends you stuff like that?" he asked.

"I haven't heard from her either," said Cody "And I am getting worried."

"Have you tried to call her yet?" asked Zack.

"No."

"Well maybe we should do that now," Zack said as he started dialing the phone.

/////////////////

Carrie heard the phone ringing in the kitchen, but there was no way she could get to it, because you see Arwinstein was holding her captive.

She wasn't afraid of him hurting her, but Carrie couldn't know that he had already gone berserk and killed Arwin's mother when she got rid of his beloved refrigerator.

When Arwin went to visit her he found that she was lying on the kitchen floor with a broken neck, and then out of nowhere his normally sweet robot jumped him from behind. He had been hiding in the corner afraid because 'Mom' wasn't moving anymore.

Arwin ended up in the hospital with several broken bones. What's worse, after he called 911, while he lay there waiting for the ambulance to arrive Arwinstein had escaped.

//////////////////

Carrie had just finished her 6 o'clock dinner show and was on the way to the restaurant for her dinner. She really missed Cody's cooking.

Then she remembered she needed to email him with the schedule for her trip. So she turned around and headed for her suite, as she entered the lobby she saw the last thing she thought she would ever see again... Arwinstein.

///////////////////

After his really long walk from Mrs. Hawkhauser's, Arwinstein was standing in the lobby looking lost. When he saw Carrie he started whining and ran up to her, picked her up, threw her over his huge shoulder, and headed up the stairs. (Luckily for him she had lost a little weight since the boys left.) :) He lugged her up to her suite and busted thru the door.

That was last night, since then she had been sitting on the couch while he sat at the dining table and just stared at her. It was like he was afraid to get to close to her, like he was afraid she might break. Every once in a while he would let out a little whimper.

///////////////////

When Carrie failed to show up for her 9 o'clock show Estebon, the new manager, went to her suite to see if she had fallen ill. When he got there he was shocked to see the door hanging off the hinges.

He immediately got worried that there was a burglar in there.

"Carrie?" He called.

When he started to open the door he saw Arwinstein, who growled at him and threw him against the far wall of the hallway.

* * *

After Estebon woke up, he dialed Arwin's cell phone. When it was answered he was surprised to hear a strange voice at the other end.

"Who ees this?" asked Estebon in his usual accent.

"This is Dr. DeMarlo at Boston General, are you a relative of Arwin Hawkhauser," the voice said.

"I am actually his boss, ees he ok," Estebon asked.

"He was attacked tonight and has numerous broken bones and many bruises," the doctor said, "I am sorry to say he will have to stay here for a few weeks while he heals."

"I was also informed that Mr. Hawhauser's mother was killed during the same attack," he said, "You can come see him during visiting hours tomorrow. He should be up to having company by then."

"Thank you very musch Doctor, I will do that," Estebon said before he hung up the phone.

Now Estebon is a pretty smart man and he figured out that Arwinstein probably had something to do with the attack, and being very worried about Carrie, he called the police.

//////////////

When Zack failed to get his mom to answer the home phone he tried her cell. Still he got no answer, and then he started to get worried too. But, being the oldest he felt he had to be strong for his little brother.

"Well," he said to Cody, "let's try the front desk."

"Ok Zack, maybe Estebon knows where she is."

Zack dialed the front desk of the Tipton. When the desk clerk, answered he said, "Boston Tipton this is Todd, can you hold please?"

"No, I can't hold," said Zack, "I need to speak to my mother, maybe you know her, Carrie Martin?"

"…!" Replied Todd. He didn't know what to do.

"Uh, hello?" Zack said to the nervous clerk. He was getting very frustrated.

"Oh. Uh. Yessirpleasehold," Todd said quickly as he pushed the hold button.

"Mr. Ramirez, I have a phone call on hold from Carrie Martin's son. Can you take it?" Todd asked him. "I don't know what to say to him," he said in a scared tone.

"Which son ees it?" Estebon asked as he picked up the extension line, not knowing Zack could hear him.

"It's Zack!" Zack said, trying not to sound as annoyed as he was.

"Oh Zack, it's great to hear your voice", said Estebon.

"Yeah, yeah; Estebon have you seen my Mom?" Zack asked. "She was supposed to be coming to see us in a couple of days and we need her to send us her schedule." He said.

"Uh Zack, I have something to tell you and your not going to like it." Estebon said. "Your Mom, she's een your suite, however, she cannot answer the phone."

"What, why not?" Zack was starting to get a bad feeling. "What's wrong Estebon?" he asked.

"Well… you remember Arwin's robot, Arwinstein?" Estebon asked him.

"Yeah, I remember him. He was so cool." Zack answered, "Why?"

"Remember who Zack?" Estebon heard Cody say in the background.

"Arwinstein." Zack said answering Cody.

"Zack, he ees holding your mom hostage een your suite", Estebon started, "and he won't let anyone near her."

"What!? What do you mean he's holding my Mom hostage?" Zack yelled.

"Oh no!" Cody said in the background. "How could he do that, I thought he liked our Mom?"

"Estebon, we're coming home," said Zack, "we will be there as soon as we can."

"Ok little blonde peoples I will see you soon." Estebon said.

"Oh and Zack, don't worry the police are here. We will get your mom out of there." He said trying to sound reassuring.

"Thanks Estebon." Zack said before he hung up the phone.

"Ok Cody we need to talk to London, now." He said to his brother as he got up from the bed and headed for the door.

"Uh Zack, you might want to put on some pants first." Cody said from behind him.

///////////////

The boys went searching for their friend London and ran into Mr. Moseby in the lobby.

"No Running In The Halls Boys." Moseby said in his usual condescending tone.

"Mr. Moseby have you seen London we need to talk to her immediately, it's an emergency." Cody said sounding panicked.

"What did you do now?" Moseby asked fixing his eyes on Zack.

"We didn't do anything, we need to go home NOW!" Cody said getting more upset by the minute.

Zack put his hand on Cody's shoulder trying to calm him.

"Moseby, mom has been kidnapped by Arwinstein and we need to go home a.s.a.p." Zack explained.

"What, I thought he was with Arwin's mother?" Moseby said as he walked quickly over to the microphone. "London Tipton report to the check-in desk immediately please." He said into the mic.

//////////////

London was sitting in the room she shared with Bailey admiring at herself in the mirror. She had just picked up her hairbrush when suddenly she heard her name come over the loud speaker.

"London Tipton report to the check-in desk immediately please." The speaker said to London.

"Hey voice, I'll be there when I'm finished brushing my beautiful hair." She said to the speaker.

A few minutes later Bailey walked into their room. "London, didn't you hear Mr. Moseby page you to go to the check-in desk?" She asked the heiress.

"Was that Moseby? I thought it was that magic voice in the ceiling again, so I told it to wait." London said to her friend.

"No it was Moseby and it sounded important. Come on I'll go with you." Bailey said as she headed for the door.

The girls hurried to the lobby to see what Mr. Moseby needed.

//////////////

"What could be taking her so long?" Zack wondered as he paced in front of the elevator.

Just as the words came out of his mouth the elevator doors opened and out stepped the girls.

"London, We Need You!" Cody practically screamed as he ran at the girl.

London jumped back in surprise, "What's the matter, Cody?" She asked the panic stricken boy.

Bailey saw the frantic look on her boyfriends face and went over to comfort him. She could tell something was very wrong.

"Arwinstein has taken our mom hostage in our suite at the Tipton in Boston, and we are stuck here on this stupid boat." Cody tried to explain.

"Cody, sweetie, who is Arwinstein? Is that the weird engineer guy from the hotel?" Bailey asked.

"No, actually it is the weird engineer guy's robot." Zack explained. " He has sort of done this before, but last time it was my fault. I unlocked the secret gate, with the secret key, in the secret room, behind the bookcase that no one knew about, where Arwin kept him. He was really sweet, but he kinda fell in love with our mom."

"We convinced Mr. Moseby to let him stay, and Arwin found him a home at his mothers. He got him to transfer his feelings for our mom to his mother's refrigerator." Cody explained. "That's where he is still supposed to be."

"Something bad must have happened. I really hope Mom is ok." He said looking down worriedly.

"It's ok buddy, you know he wouldn't hurt her." Zack said putting his arm around his brother.

"Anyway London, the reason I paged you was to ask if you could have your private jet fly the boys home?" Moseby asked. "It wouldn't be that far seeing as we just left the port in Tampa."

"I don't need Daddy for that, I always have my jet ready in case I ever finally escape from this stupid sea school. Oops, uh, I mean, sure that would be no problem." London corrected. "I will go call the airport. I am going to go with them, ok?" She asked Moseby.

"Mr. Moseby, can I go with them too? I would never be able to concentrate on my schoolwork thinking about the fact that my boyfriend's mother is in danger. I would also be so worried about Cody, Zack, and London the whole time they are gone." Bailey pleaded.

"Yes, yes you can both go with them. Ok, hurry and get what you need to take with you, I'll instruct the helicopter to be ready to take off at once. And boys be careful and keep me posted."

"Will do Mr. M., and thanks for your help." Zack said to Moseby.

All the kids ran to their cabins and got together some clothes, then went to meet the helicopter.

///////////////////

Back at the hotel Estebon was having a horrible time convincing the police what had happened, when he told them they almost fell in the floor laughing. They didn't believe a word he said, so he made the captain go up to the suite with him to see for himself.

When they got there Estebon called out to Carrie from across the hallway where he had landed earlier. He really didn't want that to happen again.

"Carrie are you alright?" he yelled.

"Estebon, is that you? Are you alright, I was so scared after Arwinstein threw you out the door." Carrie yelled.

"Yes eet's me. How are you doing een there? Are you hurt?" Estebon yelled. "I have the police here."

"I am fine, just tired and a little confused. Why is Arwinstein at the hotel anyway, and where is Arwin?" Carrie asked.

"Mrs. Martin, I am officer Thomas. I need you to remain calm and tell me where the monster is right now." Captain Thomas said to her.

"I am calm, is there something I need to know about?" Carrie asked, a little fear creeping into her voice. "Arwinstein is in the dining area watching over me like he's afraid I will disappear."

As Carrie was yelling at Estebon, she noticed that Arwinstein had gotten up from the table and was moving towards her. He also looked like he was starting to get agitated. The more she and the 2 men yelled thru the door the more upset he seemed to get.

"Uh Estebon, Arwinstein looks like he doesn't like all the yelling." Carrie yelled. "I think we better… ahhhh!"

"Carrie!" Estebon yelled.

"Ok that's it, I'm going in." Shouted Captain Thomas. "I need backup on the 23rd floor!" He yelled into his radio.

"Sir, please don't, at least not by yourself. You see that big dent in the wall over there, that's where I landed when I tried to get inside the room. I was out for, I don't even know, several hours." Estebon told the officer.

"We have to get in there, we need to see what is going on inside." Captain Thomas said.

"Have you thought of the ventilation system?" Zack asked as some other officers escorted up him, Cody, London, and Bailey.

Estebon was surprised to see the four of them so soon. They told him that they only came from Tampa, FL. not that far by plane.

* * *

"Hey guys," Estebon said, " I need to talk to you about something before you go crawling thru the vents."

Estebon took the twins down the hall into an empty room. When he got them in he had them sit and started to tell them about Arwin and his mother.

"Oh man poor Arwin, I hope he will be ok?" said Cody. "What could have possibly made Arwinstein freak out like that, he has always been so gentle?" He wondered.

"Yeah, even when he saw flashing lights or broccoli he wasn't ever that bad." Agreed Zack. "I hope he doesn't hurt our Mom."

Just then Estebon's cell phone started ringing. When he answered, it was Arwin.

"Arwin! How are you feeling my friend?" Estebon asked as he put the phone on speaker. "Do you remember what happened?"

"That's why I called you Estebon, I am afraid that Arwinstein is going to show up at the Tipton. He accidentally k-killed… m-my… m-m-mother. I think I scared him when I showed up. He got out and I wanted to warn you." Arwin told him. "I am not sure what he will do. The Tipton is the only other home he knows"

"My mother got rid of his beloved refrigerator by accident, and she called me upset that the repo man took the wrong thing; she was trying to get rid of her upright freezer. That's why I went over there, I mean who knows how long my m-m-mother would have laid there if I hadn't. I guess he was more upset than she thought." He said.

He then started to sound like he was going to cry.

"Arwin, he's already here." Estebon said as gently as he could. "He has taken Carrie and ees holding her een her suite. He won't let anyone else een there. Do you have any suggestions?" He asked the engineer.

"He's… Already… There? Carrie? Oh no, no, no." Arwin said sounding like he was in shock. "H-He… H-Has… C-C-Carrie!?!"

"I think we lost Arwin." Estebon said to the boys.

They agreed, that Arwin had gone bye bye. He had been thru a lot in the last day and a half, and now his homemade son was holding his longtime crush, Carrie hostage.

"Ok we don't have time to wait for him to snap back to reality." Zack stated. "We have a mother to save, does anyone have any ideas? Cody can you think of anything?"

"Does anyone have any oranges?" Cody asked.

"Oh Yeah! Great idea Cody!" Zack shouted. "What can we get him to do for an orange, I wonder?"

"I don't know, maybe we could lure him to the basement?" Cody offered.

"Ok well, lets you and I go see what's happening in there so we can get a better idea how to help Mom." Zack said to Cody.

"Lets go do this." Cody agreed.

//////////////////

"Can you see what room we're over yet?" Cody asked his brother.

"Yeah, I think we are over the room next door." Zack answered. "Ya know, this was a lot easier when we were 12."

"Yeah, but you knew we had to grow up sometime, right?" Cody said.

"Not me, I am never going to be old. Hehehe." Zack laughed at his own joke. "Hey I think I found it, lets see what's going on in there." He said, suddenly very serious.

"Ok move over a little so I can see too." Cody instructed. "Where is Mom?" He asked.

"I think she is laying on the couch, I can see feet hanging off the end." Zack answered back. "She's not moving, do you think she is asleep?" He asked Cody hopefully.

"I don't know Zack after hearing about Arwin and his mother… we really need to see her. Hey wait where is Arwinstein?" He asked starting to panic again.

"I don't kn… oh wait." Zack said, then he whispers, "Cody, look straight down."

"Oh man, can he see into this vent?" Cody whispers back.

"I don't know it seems like he is looking right at us, it's giving me the creeps." Zack said so quietly Cody could barely hear him.

"Zack," Cody breathed, " he is raising his hand this way. I think we better get out of here."

"Yeah, back up quick. Cody, move." Zack whispered.

"Uh… Zack, I think my sweatshirt is caught on something. I can't move." Cody told his brother as he started to panic.

"Shh," Zack said to him. "Ok let me try to fix it. You keep watch on the vent."

"Ok Zack, sorry." Cody said trying to calm down.

"It's ok Cody, we'll get you unstuck."

Zack scooted back as far as he could go and started working on his brother's sweatshirt.

"Man you really are stuck good." Zack commented quietly.

"Uh Zack, lets just take it off me, he's grabbing hold of the vent cover." Cody whispered, fighting the urge to scream.

"Cody I don't think we have enough room to take anything off in here. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Wait, do you smell oranges?" He asked.

"Y-yes, I-I think it's attracting h-him?" He stammered as he watched Arwinstein's fingers poke thru the vent. "Zaaack…"

"Ok Cody try again, push yourself back as hard as you can." Zack instructed.

(R-r-rip) "Yeah!" Zack whispered loudly. "Come on, I think you can get out now."

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, back, back, back, hurry, hurry, hurry." Cody chanted to himself quietly.

They heard the vent cover fall to the ground as they quickly rounded the first corner. They crawled a little farther and then stopped to catch their breath.

"I think that bringing the oranges in here with us was a really bad idea. There was barely room for us in here; we didn't need extra bulges in our pockets. I think we squished them, that's why we smelled them." Cody told Zack as they started crawling again.

"Do you think that's why he was trying to get in the vent?" Zack asked him.

"I wish I knew, it was either that or he heard us." Cody answered.

It had been so long since they used the vent system, and they were so flustered from what happened, they got lost on the way back out. As a result they ended up being in the system for over 3 hours.

//////////////

"That was the scariest thing I think I have ever done." Cody said as he was telling Bailey what happened.

"Oh Cody, I'm so glad you got out." Bailey cried as she gave him a huge hug.

"Bailey, I… can't… breathe… huh, huh."

"Oh Cody, hehe I'm so sorry, sometimes I don't know my own strength, all that plowin' and plantin' you know." The farm-girl apologized.

/////////////

Meanwhile, Zack was telling Captain Thomas what they saw while he and Cody were in the vent system.

"Do you think our Mom is ok, she was awfully still?" Zack worriedly asked the policeman.

"I don't know Zack, I just know I heard her scream just before you and your brother got here." Captain Thomas said. "After what the two of you saw, I'm really not sure what to think."

"We gotta get her outta there." Zack said in a determined voice.

"That's why I'm here."

* * *

Zack and Captain Thomas turned around to see Arwin rolling up in his electric wheel chair.

"Oh Arwin, buddy, you look like you were hit by a semi." Zack said. "Are you sure you should be out of the hospital?"

"I would do anything for your Mom, you know that." Arwin said to Zack.

As Cody, Estebon, Bailey, and London walked up they noticed who was in the wheelchair.

"Arwin?" They all said at the same time.

"Ewww, Arwin are you dressed for Halloween?" London asked him.

She didn't know about what happened to him yet.

"No." He answered quietly.

"Arwin you shouldn't be here, you must still be in an awful lot of pain." Cody said to the broken engineer.

"I am, but I can handle anything for Carrie." Arwin said bravely. "Besides you might need me."

"Ok Arwin do you have any suggestions?" asked Captain Thomas. "We are trying to keep people from getting hurt, but we really need to get to Mrs. Martin. The..."

"Carrie." interrupted Arwin.

"Sorry," replied the officer, "as I was saying, the boys said they saw 'Carrie' laying on the couch and she wasn't moving. So the sooner we can get to her the better." He said.

"Maybe I should try going in, I don't think he will hurt me again." Arwin offered.

"Arwin I'm not even sure if you would be able to get in the door." Cody said to him.

"Oh yes all the doors are wheelchair accessible." Estebon stated.

"Then it's settled, I'm going in." Arwin said.

"Wait Arwin, he never hurt Cody and me. Why don't we try going in. We could try to get him to come out with oranges, like Cody said earlier." Zack said. "You can hardly move, it would be to dangerous for you, and our Mom."

"Ok, I hate to do it, but I think Zack is right." Captain Thomas said.

Then to the boys, "We need to put wires on you so we can communicate with you."

////////////////

"Ok, if he looks agitated even a little get out, deal?" Captain Thomas asked the boys before they went in.

"Deal." The twins said at the same time.

/////////////////

"Should we knock?" Cody asked.

"I think we should just walk in like we don't know anything's goin' on. If we aren't scared maybe he won't be either." Zack said back to him. "We just need to be calm, can you do that?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Ok, ready?" Zack asked.

"Ready." Cody said.

"Alright, just talk to me about something from school or something. Lets go." Zack said as he started pushing on the door.

"K, did you finish that paper for English yet?" Cody asked

"Now what do you think?" Zack said back as they walked thru the door.

* * *

When the boys stepped thru the door they could see their mom lying on the couch. Her feet were hanging off the end closest to the kitchen; her right arm was hanging off the front. She looked like she had just been tossed onto the couch. It took everything they had to keep from running over to see her.

Then they saw 'him' and had to fight the urge to run back out the door.

"Hey Zack, I'm going into our room and change these pants they smell like oranges." Cody said as he gave his brother a look that said act normal remember.

"Ookaay, I think I will sit on the couch and watch some TV then." He said back, thinking that he would be able to check on his mom that way.

"Ok, I will be right back."

Zack started to walk to the couch as Cody headed for the bedroom. They only got a few steps when they heard a growl start from Arwinstein. They both froze in their tracks.

"Now what?" They both said at the same time looking at each other.

"Now you come back out." They heard Captain Thomas say in their earphones.

"We can't leave now, we are to close." Zack said.

"Hey Arwinstein, I didn't see you standing there, how are you doing?" Cody started trying to calm the robot.

He started to walk towards the agitated Arwinstein trying to act like nothing was wrong. He pulled out one of his oranges and started to peel it.

//////////////////

Arwinstein was torn, he was still very upset (although he was starting to have trouble remembering why), but he was sooo hungry too. He didn't know whether to jump Cody and take his orange or just jump Zack because he was getting to close to his Carrie. He chose the orange. Poor Cody.

* * *

"Zaaack! Unh." Cody said as Arwinstein knocked him out.

"Cody! Nooo!"

Zack ran to Arwinstein and tripped him so that he fell away from his brother.

"Captain, Captain come get my mother, hurry, Arwinstein is on the floor." Zack shouted into his mic.

About 20 officers came running thru the door, they grabbed Carrie and ran out the door with Zack right behind carrying Cody.

"Cody… Cody? Cody wake up?" Zack said as he was shaking his little brother. "Cody please wake up, you were so brave in there."

"Zack?" Cody said weakly. "What happened?"

"Oh Cody your ok! I was so worried. You stood up in front of…with that orange… he knocked you down, and you weren't moving, and…" Zack rambled.

"Zack I'm ok. How is Mom?"

"Your mother is going to be ok it seems she, like you, was knocked unconscious." Captain Thomas said. "However we need to send her to the hospital for x-rays to make sure. I'd like to send you too."

"We need to figure out what to do with Arwinstein, we need to get him to the room in the basement that you used to keep him in Arwin. Do you think we can lure him down there with the oranges?" Estebon asked.

"Yes I think if we clear the way of all people and leave a trail of oranges we could get him to go all on his own." Arwin said to the hotel manager.

"Maybe we could take him one of the refrigerators from the hotel kitchen, which would be a big step up from the one he had at your mothers. Maybe we could put a TV or something in there with him also. You know something to keep him company." Cody suggested.

"That would be a great idea Cody." Said Estebon.

He then started calling all the staff to set everything up.

"Everything will be set within the next 30 minutes." He said when he got off his cell phone.

"All right, we need to start laying out the oranges. Lets start in the basement so he won't smell them til we're ready for him to." The Captain said to his men.

The paramedics arrived and put Carrie on a stretcher to take to the hospital. Then they tried to put Cody on one also, he refused.

"Cody you really should go get checked out too." Zack told him.

"I'm not going and leaving you here with the robot, Zack. I don't want you to end up like Mom."

"Cody I am coming with you, besides Mom needs us to be there with her." Zack explained to him.

"Cody I will walk you down." Bailey said, kissing his cheek. "I am so glad you are alright."

Zack followed and got into the elevator with them.

/////////////////

At the hospital Zack sat in the waiting room with Bailey while he wondered how his mother and brother were doing in the back. Cody came walking out with a ice pack held to his head.

"They said that I am going to be ok, I don't have a concussion or anything just a really bad bump." Cody told them. "Have you heard about Mom yet?"

"Nope, I wish they would hurry." Zack answered.

They sat there about 15 more minutes and a doctor came into the room.

"Family of Carrie Martin." He said.

"Here." The twins said.

"My name is Dr. DeMarlo, I am taking care of your mother. She has a concussion and a couple of broken ribs, other than that she will be fine. I suggest that when she gets out of the hospital she take a vacation and rest." The doctor said.

"Oh thank you Dr. DeMarlo, we will make sure she gets that rest." Zack said as he shook his hand.

He then grinned at Cody and Bailey. They would make sure she got rest all right and a nice cruise.

"Hey Zack have you heard from the hotel, did they get Arwinstein to the basement?" Cody asked his big brother.

"Haven't heard yet, let's call and see how they are doing?"

Just then Arwin came rolling in.

"Success boys! We got him back down into the room behind the gate. He actually seemed happy to be there. We left him a giant bowl of oranges, a couple of toasters, and some light bulbs. He should be set for a while. I think your idea about a TV will work out well. He hadn't seen the fridge yet when I left." Arwin said to the twins.

"Oh, hi Doctor DeMarlo." He said sheepishly.

"Arwin you came back, I thought when you went AWOL that I wouldn't see you again." Dr. DeMarlo said. "Since you seem to be doing better than I thought you would, I suggest you take a long vacation too."

* * *

"Welcome back boys, I'm glad that everything turned out alright." Moseby said to the twins.

"Thank you Mr. Moseby." Cody replied. We are very glad to be back here in the peaceful ocean."

"Yeah, did you set up the 2 rooms we asked you about Mr. M.?"

Zack asked the ships manager.

"Oh yes your mother and Arwin should have a nice relaxing cruise thanks to London." He said.

"We will have to thank London again and see if there is anything we can do for her in return. In the mean time I want to go see if Mom has settled in ok, you coming Zack? Cody asked.

"Of course I am Little Bro'." Zack answered his brother as he put his arm around his shoulder and they walked off.

An: This is my first attempt at writing I hoped you liked it. Please read and review! :)


	17. woundedhearts

"**Terror Comes a Hopping"**

**By: Woundedhearts**

Bob peered around at his surroundings unable to remember when he had last been in a forest. Then noticing the Wilderness Scout uniform he currently wore, he remembered.

The claustrophobic feelings that penetrated his senses multiplied in strength and he found himself cowering at the noises around him.

Cautiously he took a step as he continued on working his way through a complicated maze of trees and shrubbery.

The light was barely seeping in through the leaves of the tall pine trees, which made the exit even harder to find.

Suddenly a sound could be heard coming from behind him. It sounded like a rustling of leaves as footsteps fell from an unknown pursuer.

Bob looked back cautiously only to find empty space. Chalking it up to his imagination he continued on, even if a bit apprehensive of where the path may lead.

Again another sound could be heard of rustling feet, but this time it came toward him, and he knew it belonged to more than one person, or thing.

Instantly his mind conjured up all sorts of predatory monsters that may or may not live in a forest.

'Okay Bob get a grip,' he thought as he continued on trying to squash the notion from his mind.

'You're alone, no one else is here!' Bob continued to psyche himself out, as yet more footsteps fell.

The noise became unbearable as his mind pondered on what the sound could mean. His senses became alert and his eyes darted back and forth taking in the scenery, sure an enemy was certain to attack.

As the sound became deafening, Bob had no choice but to confront it's source.

"Alright show yourself." Bob hollered at the top of his lungs as he picked up a rather heavy looking branch.

"I don't know who you are but I'm warning you I know "The Amputator," he's a really good friend of…some friends of mine." Bob shouted into the wind.

The only answer was another sound of rustling leaves. Bob's heart began to pound at an unhealthy pace. All his senses were alert and his first reaction was to run, the only problem…he was surrounded on all sides.

Bob cried out in terror as he got his first glimpse of his enemy, standing there less than a foot off the ground was a furry creature with a bushy tale, floppy ears and two very large feet. In shock Bob began to laugh hysterically because what he had been so afraid of was nothing more than a bunny rabbit.

"Carrot?" he heard the bunny say.

'But how was that possible?'

"Carrot?" came the voice again.

"No, no carrots here." Bob replied a little embarrassed that he was currently talking to a rabbit.

"Carrot?" the rabbit once again uttered.

As Bob finally caught on he realized he was now completely surrounded by these creatures who were mistaking him for a rather large carrot. Still Bob couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity, that is, until they showed teeth.

Bob let out a nervous squeak and stepped back cautiously, his instincts were telling him to run. But his mind was telling him the opposite. After all they were just rabbits.

"Carrot!" they cried. "Carrot! Carrot! Carrot! Carrot!"

They began to chant in unison as they came closer to the young redheaded boy with a crop of freckles. Bob began to sweat, and panic, he jumped up and began to run. He didn't care where he was going, but he just wanted to get away from the awful chanting.

"Carrot! Carrot! Carrot!" They continued as the frightened boy tried his best to escape.

But it was no use they had him cornered, and as they pounced onto him he began screaming at the top of his lungs.

"No stop, get off me!" he shouted. "I am not a carrot!"

Bob struggled as much as he could, but there seemed to be thousands of them. He couldn't escape, and he knew his time had come to an end. Yet he continued struggling and screaming.

Suddenly the bed sheets that were twisted around him fell to the floor and he found himself in his own bedroom. Letting his heart beat return to normal, and trying desperately to forget his nightmare, he sat up.

From inside the bathroom he could hear Barbara calling out to him.

"Are you okay?" she cried.

"I am fine, just a crazy nightmare." Bob responded a little shaky.

"Well I have a surprise that will make you forget all about your bad dream." She cooed from within the bathroom. "I picked up my Halloween costume for the party tonight, and I know you'll love it."

Bob smiled remembering the Vampress outfit that he helped her out of last Halloween. Eagerly he waited for her to emerge from the bathroom as a sly grin played across his face.

"Now close your eyes." Barbara called seductively. "No peeking."

Bob closed his eyes and leaned his head against the headboard as he heard the sound of the door slowly open and close, and then felt Barbara's body weight as she straddled his hips.

"Okay, now open up!" she purred, leaning in for a kiss.

Instantly Bob startled both of them, as he let out a scream that shook the rafters. He pushed Barbara to one side and jumped up in a panic.

"You bunny. Ahhhhhhhh….stay away!" Bob cried out in fear, as he pointed a shaky finger toward her and then ran out of the room.

Barbara could hear him screaming about bunnies and carrots all throughout the apartment.

"I don't think I look that bad." Barbara said to herself as she gazed down at her Playboy bunny outfit. "Maybe I should have gone with the she-devil costume after all, and to think I thought it would be too scary for him."

**The End!**

**An: Okay I hope all of you had a great Halloween. I hope you like this one; I wanted to write something silly, please read and review! :) **

**I know this is a bit over due but I wanted to give Lodylodylody credit for the title as well as the scene between Barbara and Bob. I will try and work on the final exit chapter soon. :) Sorry my friend!! **

**Many, many, many Thanks for reading each and every story!! :)**


	18. Tiger002

**Tiger002 here. Sorry I'm late, but here is my entry for this. I'm not sure if this is up to my normal quality, but I hope you enjoy this blend of action, comedy, and even some romance.**

**Mysteries of the Night**

"Cody! Cody! Cody!" Zack said pounding on his twin's door at the completely reasonable time of 5AM.

"Zack, what is it?" He got out of bed, but was still a bit disoriented. If it was this early, Zack had to have a good reason for waking him up. As he was walking to the door, he tripped over Woddy's psp, but still managed to stay standing.

"Come on Cody, hurry!" the older twin said once the door was opened. Zack said grabbing his brother by the wrist and pulled him out of the room. The younger twin barley had time to close the door behind him before unwillingly joining his brother.

_

"Zack, why did you drag me all the way to the sky deck this early?" he said as were riding the elevator.

"Well, I thought you were the one for early to bed, early to rise makes a guy like fries."

Cody stood there for a moment resting his head in his hands. "You didn't even get the quote right and I mean I like to get up before noon."

"Yea, yea, just come here and check out what I found," Zack said as the door opened.

The two went out onto the sky deck. A strong breeze blew across the ship, and they noticed the stars shining brightly against the clear black sky.

"So what's so important?" Cody asked his brother.

"Look over there," Zack commanded, and to their surprise, they saw Mr. Moseby standing at the edge of the deck staring up at the stars.

"I never thought he'd be much of a star observer, but it's not that strange," Cody said, brushing off his brother's hype.

"Yea, but this is strange," he said picking up an orange from the smoothie bar. Cody was surprised when he saw his brother chuck the fruit at the manager's head. He was completely shocked when it hit, but Moseby didn't do anything. "See, he's a zombie or something."

"What do you think happened to him?"

"Cody," he said wrapping his arm around his brother, "This is not the time to ask why; this is the time to enjoy the chance we have."

"What are you talking about?" he said backing away slowly.

"Think about everything he has done to us. Now is our opportunity for revenge." An evil smile was spread across Zack's face.

Even Cody couldn't resist the temptation his brother offered him. If Zack could have an orange explode against the back of his head, then surly he would be unaware of whatever fun they could have.

Zack ran over to his smoothie bar and began throwing various fruits into the blender. Cody knew what was happening, and he had to admit, Zack was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for.

Once the older twin had the blender full of a delicious smoothie, he walked over to Moseby and proceeded to pour it down the back of his shirt, and his pants. Cody couldn't contain himself and laughed harder than he could ever remember. "Dude, that's awesome, but we can do better," Cody said running to the ice-cream stand. He pulled out a can of whipped cream and a bottle of cherries. After adoring him with hair made of whipped cream and of course a cherry on top, they twins stood back admiring their work.

"Dude, take out your phone and get a picture of this," the older twin said.

While Cody would've liked to do as his brother suggested, he didn't have his phone with him due to being forced from his room at unreasonable hours. "Just send me the pictures; I'm going back to bed." He yawned deeply from being disrupted from his sleep cycle of exactly 8.7 hours.

"Fine, but you got to admit that was worth waking up for."

"Yea, it was."

_

The twins continued back through the elevator and the hallways noticing how strange it was to be the only people awake in sight.

"Zack, how did you find out about Moseby anyway?"

"You told me you don't have to work today at all right?"

"Yea."

"Well, I thought that would mean it would be a good time to prank the unsuspecting people," Zack said mischievously.

"What did you do?"

"Just take my advice and stay away from the pool and hot tub," he said walking away to avoid further interrogation.

"ZACKARY MARTIN!!!" a loud booming, familiar voice said, freezing the twins in their tracks.

"Uh-oh, I think he's awake," the older twin said.

"Run," Cody instructed and they did. After a few minuets of swift travel, they arrived at their rooms.

"I don't have my key," Cody declared.

"Wow that is really unlike you. Where is it?"

"On my desk with my phone and wallet, that you didn't give me time to grab."

"Well, what about Woody?"

"How could you forget that he went home for the week after that incident with the burrito and that Italian chef?" They both shuddered at the memory. "Just give me spare room key I gave you at the beginning of the year."

"Good plan bro, but I lost that less than an hour after you gave it to me."

Cody shook his head at his brother's incompetence but it wasn't too surprising to him. He knew he should've given a key to Bailey, but he never got around to it.

"I guess I'm bunking with you tonight Zack. I'll ask Moseby for a new key in the morning."

"You can't do that! Then he'll find out about what we did to him."

"I won't tell him. I'll just say I was locked out of my room last night."

"Yea, but you're a terrible liar." Cody knew it was true, but what other options were there?

"Do you have a better plan?"

"Yes, yes I do," Zack said looking up.

"What are you thinking?" Cody asked, fearful of the answer.

"Well, I've done some investigation, and I know that the ceiling tiles are easy to remove. All we have to do is remove the one next to you door, I give you a boost and you get in the ceiling and remove the one above your room. You hop down, we replace the tiles, and problem solved."

"Do you know how absurd that idea is?"

"Well, if you can think of a better one, oh brilliant one, then we'll try it."

Unfortunately for Cody, his mind couldn't conceive anything better so they went with Zack's plan. With the low ceilings of the ship, it wasn't hard for Zack to jump up and knock the tile out of place. After placing that to the side, Cody got on Zack's shoulders and the older brother carefully lifted his passenger into the ceiling. "You sure about this?" Cody asked again, still worried that something had to go wrong with one of Zack's plans.

"Don't worry, we get you back in there before anyone notices and we're home free."

"Zack doesn't know the meaning of the word punishment," a grumpy manager said in the distance.

"Uh-oh." Zack racked his mind as hard as he could, trying to think of a solution. If he came down here and saw them like this, they'd be caught for sure. "Hey Codes, just stay up there until he's gone, and then I'll help you get down."

Before Cody had a chance to protest, Zack had thrust him all the way into the ceiling, hitting his head on the next deck's floor, and replaced the tile. The older twin quickly ducked into his room before Moseby rounded the corner.

"Zack!!! Open this door right away before I knock it down!"

"Moseby, what are you doing here at 6 in the morning?" he said through several yawns

"Don't you 'Moseby what are you doing here at 6 in the morning' me. I know it was you."

"I didn't do anything," he said with a straight face.

"Oh, what do you make of this," the manager said pulling a glob of the fruity drink out of his pants.

"Mr. Moseby, I think you should ask a doctor about that."

"This is a smoothie you idiot! I also found some whipped cream and a cherry on my head."

"You should know I'm not into those fancy medical terms, anyway I'm going to bed," the older twin said as he turned around

"Not so fast. I will find out it was you, and then you will wish that your mom had sent you to military school," he said sternly. Zack dismissed the threat and closed the door behind him. His eyes locked with his precious bed. After all, class started in a few hours, and with today being Halloween, it was the perfect time to scare some people. Moreover, when hot girls are scared, they need someone to comfort them, and he'd want to be awake for that.

_

"Morning Bailey,"

"Wow Zack, you look good as a vampire."

"And you look good as an um…"

"I'm dressed as my aunt Connie. It's an old tradition back in Kettlecorn where we dress as one of our relatives."

"Yea, but you know you have a beard, don't you."

"Yep, but I couldn't find any long enough ones in the ships costume department." With that, Zack decided to take his seat and wait for class to start so he could get a nap in.

"Good morning class."

"Good morning, Mr. Moseby?" the confused class said in unison.

"Ms. Turtwiller is ill today, so I will be filling in for her," he said in a monotone voice, as he glared at a certain mischievous twin.

Zack turned to the seat beside him and whispered, "Man we got him good last night."

"Wow! When did Cody turn invisible?" London said.

It then occurred to Zack that he had forgotten something important.

"Uh, Mr. Moseby," Zack said raising his hand, "May I go to the bathroom."

"No," he said shaking his head, "You get no breaks, ever, for the rest of your life." Zack was sure Moseby's head was about to explode by his eyes widening and his body shaking. He loved it.

_

"I hate Zack. I hate Zack. I hate Zack," Cody mumbled from his uncomfortable spot. He should've known that Zack would forget him. He forgets what's on TV the second the commercials come on. If only he could see, he'd be able to get himself down, but there was absolutely no light in the room. He contemplated using his cell phone to illuminate the area, but it did him a lot of good sitting on his desk next to his room key. After an hour of waiting, he figured Zack was in his room sleeping and that he'd eventually come get him. Cody decided to do the same when he realized he hadn't gotten his 8.7 hours of sleep._

A few hours later, the younger twin was awoken by light shining down from below him. With the tile where Cody's head had been removed, he fell, landing directly on Zack's head.

"What'd you do that for?" the older twin said rubbing his head.

"Why'd you leave me up there for hours?"

"Well, with Moseby hating me, I couldn't get out of class to come get you. So, you ready to get into your room?" he asked, trying to change the subject."

"Yea, whatever." Once again, Cody climbed on top of Zack, and went back into the ceiling. This time though, no one was around, so the younger twin managed to remove to tile over his room and his brother thrusted him into his room. Zack heard a large crash as his twin collided with the floor and various other objects.

"You okay bro?"

"I'll remember this when my sternum isn't bruised."

"I'll take that as a yes then. I'm going back to my room until the party tonight."

_

The food was set out and the many students of Seven Seas High filled the sky deck. Each one was adored in a costume. Some went all out in the Halloween spirit, while others were just there for the free food. The movie, 'Nightmare Before Christmas' was playing at one end of the deck where Zack was hitting on nearly every female he could find. He still adorned in his classic vampire costume, complete with suit, cape, and even fangs. At the other end of the deck, Cody and Bailey were discussing their Halloween adventures.

"I can't believe Zack got so scared from watching a scary movie."

"Yea, I frequently remind him of it too. That and the time we scared him with the story of the ghost in the hotel." Cody was adorned in a classic, Darth Vader. He was completely black from head to toe, and even had a toy light saber attacked to the costume. The cape billowed in the breeze that continued to fly through the deck.

"Wow, and he acts like nothing could scare him."

"He's good at acting tough, but don't let that fool you."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"We make sure Zack has a Halloween to remember?"

Bailey nodded and they began discussing plans to make Zack's night more exciting.

_

"Ah, Addison, you look really good as a mermaid."

"Oh, hi Zack. You look good as a vampire too did you know that mermaids and vampires actually come from the same culture back with the legends of the..." It was by this point Zack's attention span gave out. He decided to talk to someone else. As he walked away, he thought he heard a voice coming from the shadows.

"Come my dear, and embrace the beauty of the night with me for all eternity."

"What the?" Zack said to himself as he followed the voice into a secluded area of the ship. On the highest deck overlooking the vast ocean he saw two familiar people standing, gazing at the vast ocean and night sky. Turtwiller appeared to be in a trance while Moseby walked around her, chanting something that Zack thought to be a foreign language. Below the teacher, a red pentagram started to glow. The older twin could hardly believe his eyes, when he saw transparent black wings erupt from Moseby's back. The manager flew into the air and hovered about 10 feet in the air.

"Don't worry, the transformation won't take long. Then we can leave this world of mortals behind us."

Zack backed away slowly, trying to avoid detection. He'd find Cody and they could come up with a plan.

Once out of sight of the manager and teacher, he started sprinting looking for any signs of his brother. When Zack didn't see him at the party, he ran to Cody's room, thinking he might be there. "Cody! Cody! Cody!" he said banging on the door.

"What is it Za-"

Cody was cut off by his twin yanking him out of the room by the wrist once again. "What's going on this time?"

"You won't believe what's going on with Moseby this time," Zack explained through hastened breaths, "He's performing some strange ritual." Cody thought his brother had lost his mind, but after the strange events earlier in the day, he couldn't just dismiss this as the side effects of eating too much Halloween candy.

After the brief sprint, they reached the sky deck, and just as Zack had seen before, Moseby was hovering above their teacher. "What's going on here?" Cody asked. This defied all notions of logic he once believed. After all, the supernatural was just a myth, or so he thought, until now.

"I can't have you interfering with my spell. Come forth creatures of the underworld!" Moseby said as three terrifying creatures emerged from around Turtwiller.

"Wh-what are those?" Cody said with his voice trembling.

"We'll be leaving now," Zack said as the twins turned to run.

"Not so fast," the evil manager said as one of the creatures ran to cut of the twins' only route of escape. The fiend had grey skin, and slightly resembled a wolf, only larger. Even thought it had no eyes, it was still able to sense the mortal's presence. It's long tongue hang several inches out of its mouth while it growled hungrily.

The trio of monsters began closing in on the twins, cutting off any route of escape. "Now with the only two witnesses gone, I'll be taking my wife for all eternity."

"What do we do now?" Cody said. He had never been this afraid in his life. His life flashed before his eyes as he held onto his brother. He longed for the comforting words of his mother telling him it would all be okay, but he would never hear that voice again.

"Stop right there!" an assertive person said. One of the monsters found itself being kicked overboard.

"London, what are you doing here?" all those not in a trance asked.

"Someone forgot to pick up my necklace back in Australia," she said angrily.

"London, I was too busy."

"Oh, I saw you going shopping for some strange dinner ingredients. You looked real busy to me." London mad was something not seen often, but she wasn't afraid to do whatever it took to get her way.

"This is just ridicules," Moseby said returning to the ground. "Come forth, beings of destruction." A larger creature emerged before him. This one stood over ten feet in height. It was humanoid and had brown armor covering its entire body. It wielded a large mace over six feet long, and swung it at London. As it came down, she jumped back in time but the weapon made a rip in her dress.

"Oh-no you did-n't" she said waving her finger in front of her. The monster was unfazed. The giant along with the two beasts surrounded the heiress. She didn't back up a step and locked eyes with the giant. Not an ounce of fear was in her eyes. "My daddy will make you pay for that."

"Let's get out of here while we have a chance," Zack said. With the monsters distracted by London, they had the opening they needed to run.

"No," Cody said defiantly, "we have to save our teacher. And we can't just let London die because she has the common sense of a toothpick."

"I guess you're right," Zack whispered, "So what's the plan?"

"If we can charge at him, maybe we can disrupt the spell. I wish we knew more about this." Cody could always rely on his knowledge and logic to get him out of situations, but this time he had no choice but to go on instinct and hope it worked.

The twins ran at Moseby, who quickly turned his attention to him. From his hands, spheres of red energy formed, and he blasted it at the twins. The impact forced them back to the edge of the ship. Cody grabbed onto the rail to prevent being thrown overboard, but Zack was flying to high. Cody reached out his hand, but couldn't reach him in time.

He had to think fast to save his brother, or he would fly into the endless expanse of the ocean below. He had only one shot at this.

Cody grabbed his toy light saber and Zack grabbed on and let the force of the fall propel him onto the side of the ship. It was hard enough keeping himself attached to the ship with only one hand but Zack's weight pulled him down too.

"Need a hand boyfriend?"

"Bailey, what are you doing here?" Cody asked.

"This is not time for questions!" the older twin said.

Together the farm girl helped the twins back to safety. They saw the manager breathing heavily on his knees. London was unconscious but still breathing and the monsters had disappeared. Seeing the twins recover, Moseby got back to his feet. "Come on, now's our chance!" Zack said. He hand his brother ran at Moseby again. As Zack's fist was about to connect with the manger, the twin was pushed aside.

"Don't hurt him," Turtwiller said, standing in front of Moseby.

"He must have her under a spell, Cody stated.

"No, I love him," the teacher said.

"It can't be," Zack said shaking his head.

"It is," Moseby said standing beside is love, "This Halloween it was time for me to return to the order of the nightwings. I never thought I'd get so attached to a human, but I knew I'd have to leave her."

"So that's why you were casting that spell," Cody said as he attempted to apply logic to the illogical realm of magic.

"Exactly," Turtwiller said, "The past few nights he had been meditating to gain enough power to cast that spell. I would become one of them, so I could be with him. Otherwise, Mr. M would have to leave me forever."

"We love each other," he declared giving her a brief kiss on the lips. "However, fighting you made me waste nearly all my magic. I don't know if I can complete the spell."

"Oh yes you can," Turtwiller said grabbing him by the collar. They kissed passionately for a few seconds.

"Sweet mama molasses that was good!"

"Now Mr. M, finish that spell!" The magic symbols surrounded the two adults and Moseby began chanting the ancient words once again. The encouragement from his love gave him the strength to complete the spell. As the moon rose in the sky, black wings emerged from Turtwiller's back nearly identical to the ones Moseby had possessed earlier. The manger fell to his knees but he was helped up by the one he loved.

The light of the full moon cast a bright light on the symbols where they were standing. The two started hovering in the air and it looked like they were flying toward the moon. "Good bye," the two said as they faded from sight.

"Wow that will make some Halloween story!" Bailey said.

"Yea, I wish I could have asked him about what they were," Cody said with his mind racing with a thousand different thoughts.

"Wait, with both of them gone, does that mean we won't have class tomorrow?" Zack asked.

**A/N: I went through a number of ideas while writing this, and only recently came up with the idea for the Nightwings. I like the idea for them though, and I might include them in another fic later on. Thanks for reading and I welcome any criticism or compliments or questions you have.**


	19. Halloween Ending

_**Better Late than…DEAD! **_

By Lodylodylody

*************

Bailey, still in her zombie costume, came back to consciousness first. She was still standing, huddled together with Zack, Cody and London…who were also still in their Halloween costumes. Unlike her, they all seemed to be frozen in a trance like state.

But even as Bailey tried to pull away from her frozen friends, they started to stir as well. All were a bit confused.

"What happened?" London asked in an unsure voice.

"I remember we were introducing some Halloween stories," Zack commented. "But man…now I feel so weird."

"And stiff," Cody added. "Almost like we were standing in place for…ages."

"I think we were," Bailey said. She had moved to look at the web camera setup that had been filming them for London's _Yay Me!_ episode. "According to the computer…its mid-December?!"

"That's crazy," Zack commented.

But as each of the teens tried to figure out what had happened, the situation became more and more disturbing. When they left the cabin, the rest of the ship seemed to be empty.

London let out a distraught cry. "I'm scared! I want to go home!"

Bailey gave her roommate a hug, but was quite worried herself.

"Dude, I don't want to freak out in front of the girls," Zack said quietly to Cody. "But I'm really close to losing it here!"

"We'll go to the bridge," Cody said. "Even if we don't find anyone, we'll use the captain's radio to call for help."

But when the quartet was a little over halfway to the bridge, they were shocked when a familiar voice called out to them.

"Maddie?" Zack said in shock.

"Maddie!" London repeated in a much louder tone. She ran towards her old friend and threw her arms around her. "It's so good to see you. To see anyone, actually. But you're better than just anyone."

While the heiress babbled, the others gathered around Maddie, who seemed not at all disturbed by the strangeness of their current situation.

"It's great to see all of you," Maddie said. "Are you all feeling okay? You've been in limbo a long time."

"Limbo?" Bailey asked. "What are you talking about?"

Maddie went on to tell a very strange tale. According to her, the _S.S. Tipton_ had sailed off course and into a tear in the space/time continuum on Halloween. Everyone onboard had been frozen in a sort of stasis. Government officials had found the ship after it had been missing for a month. All living souls had been removed and awakened one by one.

"And you guys are the last ones left," Maddie finished with a smile.

"Wait a second," Cody spoke up. "Why were we the last ones?"

"Yeah," London chimed in. "Daddy would have wanted me woken up first."

"Well," Maddie said with a sheepish grin. "To tell the truth, you were probably scheduled to be revived first…but shortly after the ship was brought into port, that's when the plague broke out."

"Plague?" Bailey asked.

"The vampire plague," Maddie replied. When she smiled it was clear to see her incisors were long and pointed. "Society pretty much collapsed as half the world's population transformed."

The four friends recoiled in horror from Maddie…only to be grabbed from behind by strong, cold hands. None of them had heard the other vampires creep in quietly.

Cody turned his head and was shocked to see his mother was the one holding him. Despite his shock at seeing her as a vampire, he still had enough presence of mind to take note of the others that were present. Mr. Moseby, Miss Tutweiller, Connie, Addison, Woody, Esteban, Barbara, Bob, Max, Janice and Jessica…friends from Boston and the ship both…all were present.

All were undead.

"Don't worry guys," Maddie said. "It's really great. You'll love it. I'm just sorry it took me so long to lead my family down to the ship and take over. "

"Your family?" London said in confusion.

"Maddie is the head vampire of our group," Mr. Moseby explained. "And we're all very excited to have you join us."

Maddie stepped forward and took hold of London. "I think we should start with you first," she said as she looked with anticipation at the rich girl's neck. "You're already dressed for the part, after all."

"I never knew our Halloween special would end like this," London whimpered a second before Maddie bit her. The heiress gasped in surprise and, to the shock of her still living friends, began to smile.

"Wow," the heiress said as her eyes began to flutter. "This feels…gooood! I think I could get used to this."

Zack, Cody and Bailey quickly discovered she was telling the truth. Though they hadn't anticipated such a thing…there were far worse way to reach….

**The End.**

*************

_**authors' note:**__ Sorry for the delay in the ending of this collection. The original plans were for Woundedhearts to finish off the conclusion, but her schedule became crowded…while at the same time I had to take an unwanted break from writing due to illness. _

_But the good news is, we had a great time seeing everyone's stories. And we'll be more prepared next year when we hope to do a new Halloween collection._

_We do wish to thank all the authors for their great contributions to this project. And really hope you enjoyed reading as well as writing your entries. _

_You the readers are the reason why we began this project in the first place, so even though this ending didn't quite go the way we planned, we hope you had fun reading all the stories and hope you keep supporting your favorite authors._

_Many Thanks from both of us! And don't forget to read the great new Holiday Collection we've started with the help of Snapplelinz! Take Care! :)_

_Lodylodylody and Woundedhearts_


End file.
